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HOMCEOPATHIC PHARMACY. 

^ UNIVERS^Y BUILDING, 

13 Wilcox Ave., 

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Glass. 
Book. 



fOu^y-**^ 



THE STEPPING-STONE 



TO 



HOMOEOPATHY 



AND 



HEALTH. 



BY 

E. H. RUDDOCK, M. D. 



Fourth American Edition. 

Edited and Enlarged with the Addition of a Chapter 
on Diseases of Women, and the Tissue Remedies, 

by 
WM. BOERICKE, M.D. 



PHILADELPHIA! 

BOERICKE & TAFEL, 

ion Arch Street. 

1902. 






Transfer 
Engineer School Uby» 

Aug.12,1931 



Co 




PREFACE TO THE TENTH ENGLISH 
EDITION. 



\- 



In issuing this edition of the Manual, the author 
cannot forbear making a slight reference to the increased 
esteem in which Homoeopathy is now held as compared 
with its position fifteen years ago. The great demand 
for this and other works of the author is no slight evi- 
dence of the rapid extension of homoeopathic practice. 
Is it too much to suppose that these works have con- 
tributed to the popularity of this method of the art of 
healing? Increased acquaintance with it has led to 
increased demand for its literature ; and increased diffu- 
sion of literature has led to extended knowledge and 
practice. By " Stepping-Stones " many wayfarers have 
crossed the stream of uncertainty to a " better land " of 
health, and have beckoned others to come thither by 
the same means. So they and others have advanced 
and have increased their numbers until the Homoeo- 
paths are not now a small and feeble band. In the pres- 
ent edition the author has again endeavored to express 
his gratification at the wide appreciation of his humble 
efforts to extend Homoeopathy, by embodying some of 
the results of his enlarged experience during the fifteen 
years that have elapsed since the first edition of this 
book was published, by maintaining it on a level with 
the progressive character of Homoeopathy and medical 
science in general, and by presenting a longer list of 
complaints, with ampler treatment, than is included in 

(3) 



4 PREFACE. 

any similar work with which he is acquainted. It has 
been revised throughout, and improved by the insertion 
in numerous parts of fresh observations of a practical 
character. Nearly every page will be found to include 
changes or additions which it is hoped will render the 
work increasingly useful. 

Domestic Homoeopathy. — The profession of medicine 
cannot in this age of progress be treated as a mystery. 
The aim of the enlightened physician is to make its 
principles as extensively known as possible, conscious 
that thereby the greatest amount of good will accrue 
both to the profession and the public. Still, the objec- 
tion is often urged that domestic Homoeopathy trenches 
on the legitimate sphere of the profession, and is 
dangerous in its tendency. Neither objection is valid. 
Drugs are, and we believe ever will be, employed in 
nearly every household — antibilious pills, Epsom salts, 
rhubarb, sulphur, magnesia, quinine, etc. We are Hot, 
therefore, the originators of domestic treatment; we 
have rather sought to reform it, by substituting remedies 
and measures which are not only far less harmful but 
very much more efficacious than those ordinarily 
adopted. Failure in health, of a simple and uncompli- 
cated nature, may often be arrested at the outset by 
carrying out the instructions contained in the following 
pages, while if neglected till the symptoms assume 
forms which seem to justify the consultation of a 
medical man, it may become converted into serious 
and even fatal disease. 

Justification. — A fact which specially justifies the com- 
position of this Manual is the necessity of meeting, so 
far as possible, the requirements of persons residing in 
localities where professional homoeopathic treatment is 



PREFACE. 5 

inaccessible. An extensive correspondence with persons 
in various and remote parts of the country and of the 
world convinces the author of the importance of making 
some provision for patients placed in such positions ; at 
least, till professional men have been universally led to 
the study and practice of the discoveries of the illus- 
trious Hahnemann. 

Advantages of Professional Treatment. — While making 
these statements, we feel it to be our duty to recommend 
that, in every serious or doubtful case, or when the treat- 
ment herein prescribed is insufficient to effect improve- 
ment in a reasonable time, the patient or his friends 
should consult a qualified homoeopathic practitioner. 
The vast and ever-accumulating resources at the dis- 
posal of a professional Homoeopath unquestionably 
place him on high vantage ground compared with a 
domestic practitioner. The repertory at his command 
is always increasing, and must, under almost all cir- 
cumstances, be more extensive than any that a private 
individual possesses ; his reading and professional inter- 
course make him acquainted with remedies of which 
ordinary persons are ignorant ; and diversified experi- 
ence enables him to detect subtle symptoms which at 
once point to the employment of specific medicines. 

Progress and Opposition. — In this age of scientific pro- 
gress it is gratifying to observe that medicine, instead 
of being in the rear, is advancing to the front rank, and 
that Homoeopathy is in the vanguard of medical ad- 
vancement. This is proved by its rapid extension, and 
by its powerful, though indirect, influence on medical 
and surgical practice generally, causing it to do homage 
to the instincts of humanity, and banishing every meas- 
ure or drug that is harsh and destructive. Hostile re- 



6 PREFACE. 

sistance to Homoeopathy there is, but it comes exclu- 
sively from persons ignorant of its principles, or inex- 
perienced in its actual results. The great majority of 
medical men, and, indeed, almost all who are outside 
the homoeopathic circle, are completely in the dark as 
to its theory and practice, and are consequently incom- 
petent to give a reliable opinion on the subject ; just as 
the driver of a stage-coach or the commander of a sailing 
vessel lacks the knowledge and experience to pronounce 
on the merits of railways or steamers, although all are 
alike intended for the transport of passengers and mer- 
chandise. On the other hand, those who have been 
trained under the beliefs and practices of the old system, 
and have been converted to the new by investigating its 
theory and observing its results, are placed in a position 
to form and express a candid opinion of the merits of 
both. The author of this work is in this position. 
With the confidence, therefore, which knowledge of, and 
experience in, both the old and new modes of treatment 
alone can impart, he heartily recommends a trial of 
Homoeopathy. 

Importance of Health.- — The design of this Manual is 
to point out some of the means by which much human 
suffering may be prevented, bodily functions preserved 
unimpaired, and life prolonged to the full period of 
man's existence. The importance of the subject will be 
obvious when it is considered how inconsistent physical 
incapacity and suffering are with moral well-being. 
When the habits and circumstances of man are inimical 
to good health, all the capacities of his nature are dimin- 
ished and deteriorated. The application, therefore, of 
means for guarding or restoring the health of the body 
at the same time provides for the exercise of the intel- 



PREFACE. 7 

lectual and moral powers in their highest state of per- 
fection. Perhaps there are moral benefits and oppor- 
tunities consequent on weakness and disease ; but who 
can doubt that those attendant on health and vigor are 
far greater ? Impaired health is a moral as well as a 
physical disadvantage. Reason asserts this, and expe- 
rience confirms it. Who has not learned that an impor- 
tant way of" keeping the body in subjection" is to keep 
it free from the uneasy sensations and disabilities that 
accompany ill-health? If this be so, it places the 
highest value upon the perfection of our bodily organs, 
and stamps that profession whose duty it is to promote 
" the glory of the Creator and the relief of man's estate" 
as one of the very highest that can be exercised by man. 
From such a standpoint we see in every disease cured 
the removal of a blot which marred the image of God's 
noblest work, and new power given to brighten and 
lengthen man's earthly life. Thus, alleviating human 
suffering, and so allowing the fullest exercise of man's 
higher nature, we are permitted to be humble followers 
of Him who " healed all manner of diseases," and whose 
wonderful and beneficent life has been embodied in the 
simple phrase, " He went about doing good." 

E. H. RUDDOCK. 



PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION. 



In preparing a new edition of Dr. Ruddock's " Step- 
ping-Stone," the editor has taken advantage of the oppor- 
tunity afforded of submitting the work to a thorough re- 
vision. Without in any way altering the arrangement or 
scope of the book, the reviser has endeavored to bring it 
abreast of the times, and has made such alterations, 
either in the way of correction or addition, as he 
deemed w^ould render it still better fitted for the pur- 
pose it has so well fulfilled hitherto. To this edition a 
chapter on the chief diseases of women has been added, 
which will greatly enlarge the practical usefulness of 
the book. In giving the uses of the Twelve Tissue Reme- 
dies, and incorporating them with the other homoeo- 
pathic medicines mentioned, the editor feels confident 
that this addition will be welcomed by all who may 
have occasion to refer to the book, since the application 
of these precious remedies is not only a very wide one, 
but their uses are easily understood and readily ap- 
plied by the intelligent layman. In its present form, 
this little volume is not only a stepping stone to 
Homoeopathy, as Dr. Ruddock aptly designates it, but 
it is also in itself a complete, though concise, treatise for 
the domestic treatment of all disorders. 

It does not attempt to supplant the physician's ser- 
vices, but rather to supply such intelligent co-operation 
as every physician welcomes, and to be a reliable guide 
before his arrival in the management of all diseased 

(9) 



10 PREFACE. 

conditions. Such popular treatises are of great use to 
Homoeopathy — are its most successful missionaries— 
and prepare larger and wider spheres for active work 
for homoeopathic physicians. 

WM. BOERICKE, M.D. 
Philadelphia, July, 1890. 



HINTS TO THE READER. 



I. The novice in Homoeopathy should first make him- 
self familiar with the introductory chapters. 

II. When the work is consulted for the treatment of 
any particular disease, the whole section devoted to it 
should be read before deciding on the course to be 
taken ; and if difficulty be experienced in choosing be- 
tween different medicines, the Materia Medica should be 
referred to, and an endeavor made to discover the es- 
sential features peculiar to each remedy. 

III. Persons desirous of being able to act wisely and 
promptly in any emergency, for the prevention or re- 
moval of suffering, should read this Manual through. 
Hurried perusal under excitement does not admit of 
that calm consideration of details which is often neces- 
sary to determine the most speedy and effective remedy. 
The body of the work, Part II, i3 devoted to diseases 
and their treatment— Part III to Materia Medica. Both 
should be studied carefully. 

IV. When medical terms are used, they are either 
explained in the text or in the index, at the end of the 
Manual. This index is now very copious, and every 
subject of importance may be found by consulting it. 
Reference is further made easy by division of the work 
into parts, chapters and sections, and by a table of con- 
tents at the commencement. 

V. To this new American edition of this Manual a 
Clinical Directory is appended, which, it is hoped, will 

(H) 



12 HINTS TO THE READER. 

be found of great use to those who have attentively- 
studied disease and Materia Medica. It contains, in a 
condensed form, prescriptions for diseases and symp- 
toms, many of which and the remedies prescribed are 
not referred to in the body of the work. The Clinical 
Directory has been carefully arranged, and is really the 
essence of the varied experience of many professional 
medical men. It is, therefore, of more worth to those 
who know how to use it than many who glance at its 
few pages would suppose. The chapter on Diseases of 
Women is also a special feature of this edition. 



CONTENTS. 



PART I. 



ON HOMEOPATHY AND HYGIENE. 



CHAPTEE I. page 

Homoeopathy 17 

Introductory — Early History— -Status of Professional Homoe- 
opaths — Indirect Influence — Its fast-increasing Adoption 
by its Quondam Opponents — Homoeopathy pirated by Allo- 
pathic Professors — Is Homoeopathy going down ? — What is 
Homoeopathy ? — Appeals to Facts — The Single Eemedy — 
Small Doses — Homoeopathy not Opposed to Experience — 
Faith not Homoeopathy — Veterinary Homoeopathy in the 
British Army — Diet not Homoeopathy — Medicines in 
Health — Illustrations: Light, Seed and the Magnet — 
Advantages of Homoeopathy — Economy — Homoeopathic 
Success — Is the Public a Competent Judge ? — Homoeopa- 
thy and Cholera — Constipation — Statistics — Gentle Meas- 
ures — Jerr old's Death-bed — Homoeopathic Medicines are 
Specific — Homoeopathy and Children — Experimental Prac- 
tice — Preventive Medicine — Future of Homoeopathy — 
Magna est Veritas, et preralebit. 

CHAPTEE II. 

Observations on Health {Hygiene) 33 

General Hints — Diet — Water — Fresh Air — Light — Bathing 
— Clothing — Exercise — Tobacco and Snuff — Drugs. 

CHAPTEE III. 
The Tissue Remedies 45 

The Theory of Biochemistry and History of the Tissue 
Eemedies. 

Medicines : their Administration, etc 49 

Forms of Medicines — Globules, Tinctures, Triturations — 
Genuine Medicines — Medicine Case — Directions for Taking 
Medicines — List of Medicines — Hours — The Dose — Eepe- 
tition of Doses — Alternation of Medicines. "*" 
13 



14 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. p AGE 

Nursing, Diet, Baths and Other Accessory Treatment 54 

On Nursing : The Apartment, the Bed, Cleanliness, Bever- 
ages — Diet : Milk Diet, Meat Diet, Extraordinary Diet — 
Regularity of Feeding — Food not to be Kept in the 
Sick-room — Moderation in Convalescence — Baths, etc.: 
Warm or Hot Bath, Hot Foot-Bath, Wet Pack, Throat 
Compress. Abdominal Compress. 



PART II. 



DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT. 



CHAPTEK I. 

General Diseases. — (a) Blood Diseases . 63 

Smallpox — Vaccination — Chickenpox — Measles — Scarlet 
Fever, Scarlatina — Typhoid Fever — Simple Fever — 
Ague, Intermittent Fever — Cholera — Whooping-Cough — 
Mumps — Influenza — Erysipelas. 

CHAPTEE II. 

General. Diseases. — {b) Constitutional Diseases 92 

Acute Rheumatism, Kheumatic Fever, and Chronic Rheuma- 
tism — Lumbago, Pains in the Loins — Gout — Phthisis Pul- 
monalis, Scrofulous Consumption. 

CHAPTEK III. 
Diseases of the Nervous System 102 

Epilepsy, Falling Sickness — Infantile Convulsions — Spas- 
modic 6roup, Child Crowing — Headache — Sick-Headache. 

CHAPTEK IV. 
Diseases of the Eyes, Ears, and Nose Ill 

Inflammation of the Eyes — Stye on the Eyelids — Inflamma- 
tion of the Ears — Earache — Discharge from the Ears — 
Deafness — Bleeding from the Nose. 



CONTENTS. 15 

CHAPTEE V. page 

Diseases of the Respiratory System 118 

Croup — Cold in the Head, Catarrh — Hoarseness — Bronchitis 
— Asthma — Inflammation of the Lungs, and Pleurisy — 
Cough 

CHAPTER VI. 

Diseases of the Digestive System 134 

Thrush, Frog — Disorders of Teething — Toothache — Sore 
Throat — Quinsy — Indigestion — Vomiting — Seasickness — 
Dysentery, Bloody Flux — Rupture and Strangulated Her- 
nia — Worms— Diarrhoea, Looseness of the Bowels, Purging 
— Diarrhoea in Children — Colic — Constipation, Confined 
Bowels — Piles — Protrusion of the Bowel — Biliousness — 
Jaundice. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Diseases of the Urinary System . , 172 

Difficulty in Urinating — Incontinence of Urine — Wetting 
the Bed — Bleeding from the Urinary Organs — Spermator- 
rhoea, Involuntary Emissions. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Diseases of Women 178 

Puberty and First Menstruation — Suppressed Menstruation 
— Painful Menstruation — Profuse Menstruation — Flood- 
ing — Leucorrhoea or "the W T hites" — Change of Life — 
Morning Sickness — Sore Nipples — Troubles of Lying-in 
Period. 

CHAPTER IX. 

Diseases of the Cutaneous System 184 

Nettlerash — Itching of the Skin — Ringworm — Shingles — 
Chilblains — Ulcers, Sores — Boil — W'hitlow — Corn — 
Warts. 

CHAPTER X. 

Unclassified Diseases , 193 

Palpitation of the Heart — Hemorrhages and Hemorrhagic 
Diathesis — Spitting or .Vomiting of Blood, from Rupture 
of a Bloodvessel. 



16 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTEE XL 
Injuries— Accidents 

Apnoea (from Drowning, Hanging, Suffocation by Gas, etc.) 
— Fainting, Insensibility — What to Do when a Dress 
Catches Fire — Burns and Scalds — Frostbite — Sunstroke — 
Bruises — Wounds — Poisoned Wounds — Bites and Stings — 
Foreign Bodies in the Eye or Ear— Bloodshot Eye — 
Broken Bones — Sprain — Fatigue and Overexertion — 
Poisons. 



PAGE 

198 



PART III. 



CONCISE MATERIA MEDICA. 



Remedies . , 

Aconitum, 

Antimonium, 

Apis, 

Arnica, 

Arsenicum, 

Belladonna, 

Bryonia, 

Calcarea carb., 

Cantharis, 

Carbo, 

Chamomilla, 

China, 

Cimieifuga, 

Cina, 

Coffea, 

Colocynthis, 

Drosera, 

Dulcamara, 

Gelsemium, 

The Twelve Tissue Eemedies 
Calcarea fluor., 
Calcarea phos., 
Calcarea sulph., 
Ferrum phos., 
Kali mur., 
Kali phos., 



214 



Hamamelis, 

Hepar, 

Ignatia, 

Ipecacuanha, 

Kali bichromicum, 

Lycopodium, 

Mercurius, 

Nux vomica, 

Opium, 

Phosphorus, 

Podophyllum, 

Pulsatilla, 

Bhus tox., 

Spongia, 

Sulphur, 

Tartar emetic, 

Veratrum album, 

Veratrum viride. 



233 



Kali sulph., 
Magnesia phos., 
Natrum mur., 
Natrum phos., 
Natrum sulph., 
Silicea. 



PART IV. 



Clinical Directory 
Index. 



237 



THE 



STEPPING-STONE TO HOMEOPATHY 
AND HEALTH. 



PART I. 



CHAPTER L 

1. — Homoeopathy. * 

Introductory. — This Manual is issued as a " Stepping- 
Stone " to the domestic practice of Homoeopathy ; a few 
remarks, therefore, explanatory of this system of medi- 
cine may appropriately precede its practical teachings. 

Life is the noblest gift of God, and health one of its 
greatest accompanying blessings. To recover health 
when lost, and to preserve it in its integrity to the 
allotted period of human life are the objects contem- 
plated in the publication of this little volume. The 
reader is requested to pause a few minutes before enter- 
ing on the subsequent practical details, in order briefly 
to consider some of the more prominent features and a 
few of the advantages that would arise from the more 
general and extended adoption of Homoeopathy, 

Early History. — Homoeopathy is a system of medi- 
cine for the cure of all curable diseases, first discovered 
and adopted nearly a century ago (A.D. 1790) by that 
great physician, Hahnemann. But we do not claim 
2 (IT) 



18 HOMOEOPATHY. 

for that distinguished man the invention of Homoeopa- 
thy ; he only removed the obscurity which had hitherto 
shrouded the subject of medicine, and unfolded to man- 
kind a great law of nature, just as Newton discovered 
the principle of gravitation. Glimmerings of this 
science had been caught many centuries before by Hip- 
pocrates and others, but the illustrious Hahnemann 
was the first fully to grasp the principle and to enun- 
ciate it as the law of healing, and therefore of universal 
applicability. At first its professors were few, and 
consisted of the immediate friends and disciples of 
Hahnemann ; but, ever since, they have been steadily 
multiplying, so that now medical men of great intelli- 
gence and high moral principle are to be found prac- 
ticing Homoeopathy in every civilized portion of the 
globe. There are about three hundred avowed legally 
qualified practitioners in Great Britain ; while if those 
who approve the system and practice it in part or 
secret were added, the number would be far more than 
doubled. In the United States of America there are 
upward of 10,000 practitioners and many State-sup- 
ported hospitals, universities and medical colleges. 

Status of Professional Homoeopaths. — It is often rep- 
resented that homoeopathic medical men occupy an 
inferior position to those of the old school. Nothing 
could be further from the truth. The homoeopathic 
practitioners have the same legal rank and have passed 
through similar courses of study as their brethren of 
the old school, supplemented by the special study of 
Homoeopathy and the homoeopathic application of 
drugs, by which knowledge they are enabled to cope 
with many forms of disease against which the old school 
practitioner, without this special knowledge, is power- 
less. 



INDIRECT INFLUENCE. 19 

Indirect Influence. — Moreover, there are many who 
practice homceopathically, but have not the courage to 
avow it; and many others who, impelled by the influ- 
ence which this system is everywhere exerting, are 
greatly modifying their practice. Even the Lancet oc- 
casionally opens its pages to the teaching of Homoeop- 
athy : an Allopath describes the successful treatment of 
nausea, retching and vomiting by a drop of Ipecacuanha 
wine in a teaspoonful of water, repeated at first every 
hour, and afterward every four hours. The writer 
states that he was induced by the recommendation of a 
medical friend (no doubt a Homoeopath) to use this 
treatment, that he did it with the greatest skepticism, 
and with the fullest expectation of finding these small 
doses useless. Repeated successes, after the failure of 
lengthened trials of the usual allopathic armament, 
compelled him to believe in their efficacy. Indeed, 
Aconite and various other of our well-known remedies 
are frequently prescribed ; and cases successfully treated 
by them are quoted in the allopathic journals. The 
use of single remedies in one or two-drop doses, or even 
smaller, by medical men of the old school satisfactorily 
proves the growing influence of Homoeopathy, espe- 
cially when, as we have seen, the remedies so used are 
prescribed for diseases to which they are homoeopathic. 
The good thus effected by the discovery of Hahnemann 
is immeasurable. Its influence is both direct and in- 
direct, acknowledged and unacknowledged, but always 
beneficent. Not only medical men, but tens of thou- 
sands of intelligent persons in every civilized portion 
of the globe confide in Homoeopathy as the best and 
most natural system of cure. 

Homoeopathy Pirated by Allopathic Professors. — But 



20 HOMOEOPATHY. 

the most convincing proof of the advance of Homoeop- 
athy is to be found in the more popular of the allo- 
pathic works on materia medica and therapeutics, such 
as Dr. Lauder Brunton's Pharmacology, Therapeutics and 
Materia Medica, and Professor Sidney Ringer's Hand- 
book of Therapeutics. In these books homoeopathic 
remedies are recommended by the hundred, but no 
acknowledgment is made to Homoeopathy or Hahne- 
mann. And this is what constitutes the dishonesty of 
their action. In science and literature to appropriate 
the works of another without giving due acknowledg- 
ment to the real author of them constitutes piracy ; and 
the works of the writers we have named are at once an 
unintentional monument to the genius of Hahnemann, 
and an equally unintentional monument to the writers' 
own disgrace. 

Homoeopathy going Down ? — It is true, the statement 
is often made by its opponents that the new system is 
on the decline. " Homoeopathy is going down," once 
remarked a medical man of the allopathic school. It is 
going down. Not, however, in the sense he wished. It 
is sinking deep into the understandings and hearts of 
the people. Almost everywhere they are directing their 
attention to the subject. They try it, and in the hour 
of sickness confide in it ; and if not conversant with the 
scientific proofs of Homoeopathy, they recognize in it a 
power to heal superior to that which they have ever ex- 
perienced under the old plan of treatment. 

What is Homoeopathy? — It may be advisable to an- 
swer succinctly this question before going further. Ho- 
moeopathy is a system of administering medicines for 
the cure of the sick, based on the fact that drugs have 
the power of causing in the healthy, diseased states similar to 



SINGLE REMEDY. 21 

those they have the power of removing in the sick. Thus 
quinine, which cures ague, has the power of causing 
attacks of fever like the ague fits: and Belladonna, 
which mitigates and prevents scarlet fever, produces, in 
the healthy, fever, sore throat, and a rash very like the 
symptoms of scarlet fever. 

Homoeopathy Appeals to Facts. — It is deserving of 
remark that, in the discovery of Homoeopathy, Hahne- 
mann did not first conceive a theory, and afterward 
seek for facts with which to uphold it. No ! At start- 
ing, and at each successive step, he relied solely upon 
facts. What he learned was from well-observed and 
unquestionable facts, based upon carefully conducted 
experiments. His assertions were grounded upon facts, 
the result of patient and oft-repeated investigations. 
For several years he kept his discovery to himself; at 
the same time he was arranging and accumulating evi- 
dence founded upon facts, which were diligently col- 
lected and closely scrutinized. At last he could speak 
with the confidence of a man who was well assured 
that the statements he made were true, that underneath 
his superstructure of theory there was not an uncertain 
foundation of supposition and probability, but the firm 
rock of natural and immutable reality. Homoeopathy 
is still upheld by facts. Its foundation cannot be shaken. 
Its position is firm in spite of all the storms by w T hich 
it has been assailed and all the tests by which it has 
been proved. It is because it has stood the trial of ex- 
perience that it has been preserved to the present time, 
and will be transmitted to the latest generations. 

Single Remedy. — Homoeopathic treatment is not only 
distinguished by its simple evolution from facts, but 
also by its simple exhibition of methods of cure. Only 



22 HOMCEOPATHY. 

one remedy is given at a time ; thus the pure action of 
each separate drug is ascertained, and the confusion 
resulting from mixing different substances in one pre- 
scription is avoided. Every remedy has an action pecu- 
liar to itself, and it cannot but happen, when several 
drugs are introduced into the system at the same time, 
that they interfere with each other. If, under such cir- 
cumstances, good is effected, it is often impossible to 
determine which drug or how many out of the number 
have contributed to the result. Or if no good follows, 
and it be necessary to alter the prescription, then it 
must be also impossible to know what change to make, 
what remedies to omit, what new ones to add. Dr. 
Paris, a distinguished allopathic physician, says he was 
once told by a practitioner in the country that the quan- 
tity and complexity of the medicines which he gave his 
patients were always increased in the ratio with the 
obscurity of their cases. " If," said he, " I fire a profu- 
sion of shot, it is very extraordinary if some do not hit 
the mark." " A patient in the hands of such a practi- 
tioner," adds Dr. Paris, " has not a much better chance 
than a Chinese mandarin, who, upon being attacked 
with any disease, calls in twelve or more physicians, 
and swallows in one mixture all the potions which each 
separately prescribes." In Homoeopathy we only give 
one medicine at a time; its action upon the system is 
then simple and undisturbed, and we are no longer in 
doubt as to what is doing good. 

Small Doses. — Homoeopathy does not necessarily mean 
a small dose, as it is often erroneously supposed to do. 
The term is intended to designate a certain relation of 
medicine to disease, not a certain quantity of the medi- 
cine. The grand principle — that which forms the basis 



HOMCEOPATHY NOT OPPOSED TO EXPERIENCE. 23 

of the science — is, like cures like, irrespective of the quan- 
tity of the dose. Hahnemann, after he had discovered 
this principle, employed doses of the usual quantity. 
Experience and further investigation, however, taught 
him that smaller doses were not only sufficient and 
safer, but that, when frequently administered, they were 
more effective than large ones. Others have learned 
the same lesson, which is enforced by the testimony of 
all subsequent medical men who have fairly tested the 
point. The assertions of others who have not so tested 
it cannot claim confidence. 

Apart from the greater curative power of small doses, 
it is a matter of perfect indifference to the followers of 
Hahnemann whether they administer medicines in 
large or small doses. If they found large doses more 
efficient in curino; diseases than small ones, thev would 
assuredly administer the former rather than the latter. 
"We may suggest three reasons why small doses, admin- 
istered in harmony with the homoeopathic law, are 
efficient : First, because they are exactly suited to the 
exalted susceptibility of the diseased part, and act upon the 
same class of functions that nature has already called to 
her aid. Secondly, because they act directly on the part 
which requires to be influenced, and not on other parts ; 
their force is not, therefore, expended on healthy parts. 
And, thirdly, because only one remedy being adminis- 
tered at a time, its action is not interfered with by one 
or several others. Doctors who always administer drug's 

%j o 

in combination have no idea of the power of single drugs 
in small doses. 

Homoeopathy not Opposed to Experience. — The results 
obtained by homoeopathic practitioners with small doses 
have been said to be opposed to all experience. But 



24 HOMCEOPATHY. 

the truth is that, prior to the researches of Hahnemann 
and his followers, we had no experience whatever in the 
matter. It is, consequently, just as absurd for medical 
men to deny that homoeopathic remedies can effect the 
cure of disease because such cures are contrary to the 
experience of those who have never tried them, as for a 
certain King of Siam to have treated as false the state- 
ment that in some countries, and in some seasons, water, 
under the influence of frost, becomes changed from a 
fluid to a solid, permitting persons to walk upon it, be- 
cause in his country no such phenomenon had ever 
been witnessed. Siamese philosophers are not yet ex- 
tinct. 

Faith not Homoeopathy. — That the efficacy of Homoe- 
opathy is not dependent on faith or imagination is 
proved by its curing the diseases of infants, of patients 
in delirium, and of inferior animals. The writer is per- 
sonally acquainted with many intelligent farmers who 
employ none other than homoeopathic medicines in the 
treatment of their sick animals. It must be admitted 
that the farmers of this country are generally shrewd, 
calculating men, not easily deceived in matters affecting 
their interests, and, moreover, usually conservative in 
their notions ; nevertheless, great numbers of them de- 
clare that Homoeopathy cures diseases that were incura- 
ble by the old method ; that it cures more quickly, at a 
less cost, and without damage to the constitutional 
powers of animals. We have in such declarations as 
these the best evidence that the success of Homoeopathy 
is not the result of mere faith, but of valuable medicines 
properly administered. 

In truth, the success of Homoeopathy is anything 
but the result of faith in those who practice it. Per- 



MEDICINES IN HEALTH. 25 

sons are generally slow to believe in it, and seldom 
have recourse to it at first without doubts and misgiv- 
ings. Yet benefit is derived in spite of their unbelief. 
Cure overcomes their incredulity. Faith comes and 
grows only as the cure progresses and is complete. 
The very improbability of a dose so small and so un- 
like what had been formerly given acts, so far as the 
imagination has any influence upon the cure, unfavor- 
ably instead of the reverse. Conviction does not heal; 
it is the healing that produces the conviction. 

Diet not Homoeopathy. — Neither does Homoeopathy 
consist in dietary measures, as often stated. All the 
interference of the homoeopathic doctor in this particu- 
lar only amounts to the discouragement of the use of 
such articles as are needless or injurious, and just such 
as any accomplished and faithful physician would pro- 
hibit. As physician for many years to a large dispen- 
sary in Reading, the author often remarked that some 
of his most successful cases had been cured without 
any reference to the question of diet at all, and never 
proscribed the moderate use of coffee, tea or anything else 
that agreed with the patient. In many cases a strict set 
of dietary regulations would be useless, for dispensary 
patients have generally but little choice of food ; yet 
none have benefited from Homoeopathy more than the 
poor. 

Medicines in Health. — A story has often been told 
of a child swallowing the contents of a tube of globules, 
which created great alarm but took "no effect." Sup- 
posing the statement true, it does not at all compromise 
Homoeopathy. Homoeopathic medicines, in the form 
in which they are usually administered, are prepared 
with the view of acting on the constitution in disease* 



26 HOMOEOPATHY. 

when the parts are far more sensitive and much more 
easily affected than in a state of health. A healthy 
constitution has no susceptibility for attenuated drugs ; 
to insure their action in health they must be adminis- 
tered in a low or crude form, so as to produce unnatural 
effects — in short, a kind of poisoning. 

Illustrations — Light. — For instance, a ray of light 
falling upon a diseased eye will cause pain, or even 
become intolerable, although in health the same eye 
might be unaffected by the broad light of day. The 
susceptibility of the eye has, in fact, been heightened 
by disease. Millions of rays of light afforded pleasure 
in health : now one ray gives pain. Just so in reference 
to the tube of globules ; that which will produce no disturb- 
ance in health will, in disease, ivith heightened sensibility, act 
powerfully. 

Seed. — Small doses may be taken without producing 
effects, just as seed may be sown without yielding fruit. 
It were as reasonable to expect a plentiful harvest from 
seeds scattered on the seashore or on a beaten path as 
to expect " effects " from infinitesimal doses when the 
natural accessories are wanting. As seed will not grow 
unless the soil is congenial and prepared, so small doses 
will not act if the symptoms calling for their action are 
absent. 

The Magnet. — To borrow another illustration: The 
disease must have the same attraction for the medi- 
cine as the magnet has for iron. You could not tell by 
touching the loadstone with a piece of copper that it 
had any power of attraction ; neither could you tell by 
taking an attenuation of Aconitum in a state of health 
that it had any power. But try the magnet with a 
piece of iron and Aconitum with a quick pulse, and then 
their respective energies will be demonstrated. 



ECONOMY. 27 

When it is said that the globules took " no effect," 
the meaning is, no such " effect " as follows allopathic 
doses, viz., vomiting, purging, extreme pain, etc. And 
here we have an illustration of the safety of homoeo- 
pathic remedies, and see how favorably they contrast 
with the strong drugs and severe measures often em- 
ployed under the old system of treatment. Well, in- 
deed, would it have been for thousands of allopathic 
patients if bleeding, Mercury, blisters, purgatives, etc., 
had also taken " no effect." 

Advantages of Homoeopathy. — We are thus led on to 
the consideration of the advantages arising from the 
adoption of homoeopathic treatment, but we have only 
space to refer to a few. 

Economy. — Economy is secured chiefly from the 
shortened duration of diseases. The use of strong drugs, 
whose deep and injurious effects are often not known 
or recognized, blistering, purging and other debilitating 
measures are discarded, so that, the disease being cured, 
the patient soon regains his strength, because it has not 
been expended by exhausting treatment. Tedious con- 
valescence and permanently shattered health too often 
follow allopathic drugging. Patients often suppose 
they have not fully " got over " the disease, when in 
reality they are suffering from the effects of drugs ad- 
ministered to master the disease. To the industrial 
portions of the community, whose livelihood depends 
upon continuous work in their calling, a speedy restora- 
tion to health is of great importance. Now, it is a fact 
of too common occurrence that much inconvenience, 
and even destitution, often results from the injudicious 
and protracted measures of the old system; for the 
poor patient is long in recovering. On the other hand, 



28 HOMOEOPATHY. 

there is no medicinal exhaustion from which to recover 
when the disease has been overcome by homoeopathic 
remedies. 

Homoeopathic Success. — In respect to successful treat- 
ment, Homoeopathy is immensely superior to Allopathy. 
Patients who have been under both systems are best 
able to judge of their comparative merits, and such al- 
most always give the palm to Homoeopathy. 

Is the Public a Competent Judge? — It may be said 
the public are incompetent to judge of such a matter; 
but it is not so ; and although they might for a time 
be deceived, the deception could not last long. In mat- 
ters affecting their personal interest the public are re- 
markably shrewd, and seldom fail to arrive at a sound 
conclusion. Not only the general public, but also phy- 
sicians among the most highly educated of the profes- 
sion, after due investigation and experiment, have re- 
nounced the old for the new system of practice ; while 
some of the most profound scholars and greatest minds 
in the land are Homoeopaths. The clergy and minis- 
ters of ail denominations are rapidly embracing the 
system. So, we venture to affirm, will all those act 
who have the moral courage to inquire, investigate and 
think for themselves. 

Homoeopathy and Cholera. — The superiority of homoe- 
opathic over allopathic treatment applies both to acute 
and chronic diseases. Under the old system, when 
cholera prevailed in England, tivo out of every three pa- 
tients were lost ; on the other hand, under Homoeopathy, 
two out of every three were saved. This is proved from 
published statistics. The same is true of all other epi- 
demics. In all, the duration and suffering are much 
shortened, and patients do not have a long and tedious 
convalescence. 



ge:;tle measures. 29 

Constipation. — Take a further illustration of the su- 
periority of Homoeopathy, as seen in the treatment of 
constipation of the bowels. Allopathy cannot cure this 
complaint. It can only give aperients or purgatives ; 
and these, so far from removing the evil, in the long 
run generally aggravate it ; whereas, by a little perse- 
verance in the use of her remedies, Homoeopathy cures 
it, even in the most inveterate cases. 

Statistics. — We confidently refer, in proof of the suc- 
cess of homoeopathic treatment, to the statistics of the 
various hospitals and dispensaries conducted on homoe- 
opathic principles. We have not space here to record 
even a selection from that accumulated evidence which 
has now become so voluminous. Numerous volumes 
of homoeopathic clinical information, and the reports 
of the results of the practice of our hospitals and dis- 
pensaries, are open to the inspection of all ; for Homoe- 
opathy, differing in this respect from every system of 
quackery, courts investigation. Nothing is considered 
more inimical to its interests than concealment. Facts 
so bear out its inherent truth as to carry with them 
their own irresistible credentials ; and these, we are con- 
fident, will eventually remove every impediment to its 
general study and universal practice. 

Gentle Measures. — Pass from stern statistics to more 
pathetic associations. Contrast the chamber of the al- 
lopathic with that of the homoeopathic patient. Even 
if it is not true to-day to such an extent as it used to be, 
that the repulsive leech, the blister and its accompani- 
ments — -sores, salves and dressings — the emetic and its 
disagreeable results — the inevitable purgatives and their 
disgusting and hurtful consequences — are the constant 
signs of the presence of the old school physician, still 



30 HOMCEOPATHY. 

they are to a large extent, and always do we find large 
quantities of nauseous medicines in large bottles to be 
taken in frequent doses ; or what is worse, violent 
poisons are injected subcutaneously, and the patient is 
thus drugged into unconsciousness. Think of such a 
course of treatment offered during the last and most 
sacred hours of life, and being often inflicted on help- 
less infants and terrified children, as not merely un- 
necessary, but pernicious beyond calculation ; as often 
destroying, or deadening, by such harsh appliances, or 
stupefying drugs, the very life intended to be saved ! 
Turn now to the chamber of the homoeopathic patient. 
He is very ill, but the law of self-preservation is re- 
spected, and the " life's blood is spared." No leeches 
or blisters are used ; the linen is clean, and the air is 
sweet ; for there has been no emetic, no purgative or 
salivation, rarely a hypodermic syringe. Perhaps the 
only article indicative of sickness is a glass or bottle of 
medicine, inoffensive alike to both taste and smell, but 
potent to mitigate the sufferings of the patient and re- 
store him to health. 

Jerrold's Death-bed. — "Why torture a dying creature, 
doctor ? " were the words and remonstrances of Douglas 
Jerrold to his medical attendant within a few hours of 
his death. The doctor insisted on administering medi- 
cine and cupping, notwithstanding extreme exhaustion. 
His son and biographer, Blanchard Jerrold, says, " We 
waved the fans about him, giving him air ; and still, at 
intervals, he talked faintly, but most collectedly. The 
dawn grew into a most lovely summer morning. At 
ten o'clock the patient was cupped. He could hardly 
move in bed, and again said, i Why torture a dying 
creature, doctor?' But the cupping took no effect." 



HOMOEOPATHY AND CHILDREN. 31 

This is a sad picture. Thank God, Homoeopathy puts 
an end to these inhuman means, by substituting 
natural and gentle appliances, such as shall conserve 
the life-powers, and diminish, not aggravate, existing 
sufferings. 

Homoeopathic Medicines are Specific. — An important 
advantage attaching to our medicines is, that they only 
act on the diseased parts. Thus, in affections of the 
brain, the bowels are not operated on by purgatives ; or 
the liver, mouth and bones by Mercury ; or the skin 
by blisters ; but such substances are administered as 
have been proved to operate directly on the brain itself, 
and upon the brain in that particular diseased condi- 
tion which exists when it is brought under treatment. 
So in diseases of the chest : the bowels, liver and skin 
are undisturbed, and only that part acted upon which 
is diseased. This is a great advantage. Under such 
treatment disease cannot be j)roduced in healthy parts, 
and the disappearance of the primary disease is a sign 
that it is absolutely cured. 

Homoeopathy and Children. — Our medicines are not 
disagreeable. This is an advantage which every 
mother who knows that her children have a natural 
and 'proper disgust of old physic, can appreciate. Adults 
swallow nauseous draughts and pills in the hope of de- 
riving benefit therefrom ; in the case of children, how- 
ever, the prospect of benefit is often far more than 
counterbalanced by the horror and disgust which the 
abominable compound excites. And, further, the dis- 
eases of children are influenced most strikingly and 
favorably by homoeopathic medicines ; and every prac- 
titioner has often received the warmest thanks of 
parents from whose children the most alarming dis- 
eases have been removed as by a charm. 



32 HOMOEOPATHY. 

Experimental Practice. — We do not try experiments 
with our drugs on the sick. The practice of trying the 
effects of drugs on persons suffering from disease is 
cruel and dangerous : cruel, because it torments the pa- 
tient already suffering from disease; and dangerous, 
because it often undermines the constitution, and inter- 
poses obstacles to that natural tendency to recovery 
which Infinite Goodness has interwoven with life. 
Homoeopathic drugs, on the contrary, are always tried 
on medical men and their friends when in health, in 
repeated and sufficiently large doses, to ascertain their 
properties before administering the smaller and atten- 
uated doses of such medicines to the suffering. 

Preventive Medicine. — But Homoeopathy is 'preventive 
as well as curative. Its medicines have the power of 
preventing, or arresting at the very outset, many dis- 
eases, such as colds, influenza, various fevers, cholera, 
etc. In the practical portions of this work it will be 
found that we have suggested preventive as well as 
curative measures. 

Future of Homoeopathy. — It may be asked, " Will Ho- 
moeopathy ever become universal ? " We reply, most 
great discoveries and improvements have been obsti- 
nately opposed at first, but, having truth for their basis, 
have triumphed in the end. So Homoeopathy, in spite 
of the bitterest and most unprincipled opposition which 
it has received from the very commencement, has con- 
tinued to spread in an ever increasing ratio, so that now, 
wherever the sun shines, and the light of European civ- 
ilization has penetrated, and suffering humanity is 
found, Homoeopathy is acknowledged and embraced as 
one of the greatest and most humane of modern discov- 
eries. We have an impressive illustration of this in the 



GENERAL HINTS. 33 

case of Hahnemann, the first expounder of Homoeopa- 
thy — he was cruelly persecuted, and finally driven 
from his native Saxony ; yet now, the very city of Leip- 
sic, from which he was banished, is adorned by a mon- 
umental statue, in bronze, and a large homoeopathic 
hospital which perpetuate his memory. If Homoe- 
opathy then could not, in its early infancy, be de- 
stroyed, it has little to fear now that it has grown to 
the proportions of a giant. Many of its present ad- 
herents have been converted from the old system 
through experiencing or witnessing the superior advan- 
tages of the new, in the face of those deeply rooted 
prejudices which it is difficult entirely to discard. 
Thousands of families are now being reared under ho- 
moeopathic influences who have never espoused, and 
probably never will espouse, any other system. The 
tendencies of such persons will be in the right direction, 
and they will become its consistent and unwavering 
advocates. Judging then of the future by the light of 
the past, and believing that truth will prevail, we are 
led to the inevitable conclusion that Homoeopathy, 
founded as it is upon truth, upon an immutable natural 
law, will ultimately become the exclusive and universal 
mode of curing all diseases which are curable by drugs. 



CHAPTER II. 

2. — Observations on Health (Hygiene). 

General Hints. — -All persons should, if possible, take 
moderate daily exercise in the open air, or, when the 
weather is unsuitable, in well-lighted and properly- 
3 



34 OBSERVATIONS ON HEALTH. 

ventilated rooms. Undue indulgence in any passion, 
all excessive emotions — grief, care, anger, worry, etc. 
— must be guarded against. The active requirements 
of business, as well as all its cares and anxieties, 
should be strictly confined to ten or twelve hours 
each day, and the remaining portion of the twenty- 
four hours appropriated to rest, recreation, and the 
general improvement of the mind and body. The 
regular habit should be formed of going to bed early 
and rising early. Even children, who generally wake 
early, should never be compelled to lie in bed, as 
nature seems to have intended every one to rise early. 
On the other hand, be careful about disturbing the 
morning sleep of weakly children or the debilitated 
generally. A passing remark on these topics is all our 
limited space permits, except on two or three points, to 
which additional paragraphs are appropriated. 

Diet. — The grand rule to be observed is that persons 
should partake of easily digestible and nourishing food, 
sufficient to satisfy hunger ; and of such drinks only as 
nature requires to allay thirst. 

Avoid everything that you knoiv, from experience, disagrees 
with you, and do not get to be a slave of any dietetic 
theories, and remember that one man's meat is another 
man's poison, hence the impossibility of laying down 
any universal rules. But, in a suggestive way, the fol- 
lowing may be observed : 

Dinner. — Meat, prepared for the table so as to retain 
all its juices, and properly cooked vegetables, varied 
from time to time. In addition, for ordinary diet 
nothing is better than an old-fashioned light suet pud- 
ding, with gravy or preserves. Pastry is not so whole- 
some. Breakfast may consist of bread or dry toast, with 



DIET. 35 

butter or a slice of bacon, or a lightly boiled egg ; but 
eggs should not always be taken, especially by persons 
of sedentary habits. Oatmeal, cracked wheat, or others 
of the mushes, with cream and sugar. A breakfast- 
cupful of cocoa, made from the nibs or from one of the 
cocoa " essences," such as Epps' or Alkethrepta, is more 
nourishing than tea, and less prejudicial to the nervous 
system. Many diseases come under our notice, espe- 
cially in dispensary patients, from the excessive and 
almost exclusive use of tea as a beverage. Cocoa nibs 
produce a highly agreeable beverage, and, from per- 
sonal use. we recommend its daily adoption, especially 
for breakfast. For the evening meal, one or two small 
cups of black tea may be taken instead of cocoa, 
although the latter is more nutritious. Tea, after it 
is made, should never be allowed to stand longer than 
five minutes, at the outside, before it is taken. It 
should never be taken without a plentiful supply of 
milk. For growing children, and persons to whom 
nourishment is a matter of importance, cocoa should 
always be chosen instead of tea or coffee. It, and espe- 
cially milk, with bread, crackers and " mush," should 
form the principal articles of diet for the young. The 
meal should also include bread, or dry toast, with but- 
ter, fruit, marmalade, green vegetables, etc., as may be 
found most digestible and agreeable. Coffee, well made, 
is better for many patients than tea. The nervous 
should use it but sparingly, and tea should be avoided 
by those suffering from flatulency. Cheese may be eaten 
if it agree and the digestive organs are healthy ; but it 
should not be taken late in the day, as it requires many 
hours to digest. Cooked cheese, in the shape of cheese 
biscuits, and finely grated cheese added to soups are 



36 OBSERVATIONS ON HEALTH. 

both nutritious and digestible. Nearly all that it seems 
necessary to state further in this chapter is — the diet 
should be regulated by the person's own observations, 
intelligently made, as to what kinds of food and drink 
best agree with him ; meals should be eaten slowly, in 
a cheerful spirit, and taken at regular intervals — usually 
not more than three in the day ; and no severe exercise 
— mental or physical — should be practiced immediately 
after a meal. For further and full information on this 
subject consult "Essentials of Diet; or, Hints on Food 
in Health and Disease," by Dr. Ruddock. 

Water. — Water is the natural drink of man, and may 
always be taken in moderation w T hen thirst is present. 
It performs important purposes in the animal economy, 
and is absolutely indispensable for life and health. 
When there is intolerance of plain water, as in some 
conditions of the stomach, toast-water may be substi- 
tuted, and this nearly always agrees. Water enters 
largely into combination with all our food, and acts as 
a solvent of everything we take. It acts also as a ve- 
hicle to convey the more dense and less fluid substances 
from the digestive tract to their destination in the body. 
It gives fluidity to the blood, holding in suspension or 
solution the red corpuscles, albumen, fibrine and other 
constituents which enter into the different structures of 
the body, the whole of which are formed from the 
blood. Not only the soft parts of the body, but even 
the very bones, or the materials of which they are com- 
posed, have at one time flowed in the current of the 
blood. To show how essential water is for the develop- 
ment and maintenance of the animal body, we may 
state that a calculation has been made which proves 
that a human body weighing 154 lbs. contains 111 lbs. 



WATER. 



37 



of water. Such a fact should suggest the necessity for 
obtaining water pure, and taking it unpolluted by 
animal and mineral ingredients. Water may be ob- 
tained tolerably pure in rain or snow collected in suit- 
able vessels in the open country, away from crowded 
dwellings and manufactories. Spring, river, sea, sur- 
face, well and mineral water all contain various sub- 
stances dissolved in them, which frequently render 
them, without distillation or filtration, unsuitable for 
drinking, or even for the preparation of articles of food. 
In some cities can be had an aerated distilled water, 
which is both palatable and perfectly pure. The purest 
natural water is obtained from deep wells, bored 
through the earth and clay down to the chalk (artesian 
wells). For cooking purposes and even bathing the 
purest water that can be obtained should be used. 

All water for drinking purposes in our cities — and it 
is advisable in all cases — should be first boiled and then 
cooled. The same rule is to be observed in using; water 
as a vehicle for our medicines. 

In nausea, morning sickness, seasickness and weak 
condition of stomach an aerated water is sometimes 
very grateful. In these cases soda water or any effer- 
vescing water will be found useful, but for constant use 
only pure, natural water should be used. 

In some forms of dyspepsia and catarrhal conditions 
of the stomach hot water is of great benefit. But it 
must be taken an hour before meals and also at bed- 
time (if constipation be present) and sipped slowly, 
taking about a quarter of an hour for it. Again, in 
chronic catarrh of the head and throat, gargling with 
water in which may be dissolved a little ordinary table 
salt is very beneficial. So, in catarrhal conditions else- 



38 OBSERVATIONS ON HEALTH. 

where — leucorrhoea, for instance — a similar local use of 
water is desirable and harmless. 

One important object contemplated by the writer of 
this work is the removal of a foolish prejudice, which 
unhappily exists in the minds of many, against pure 
water, an element which God has provided for His 
creatures with the most lavish abundance ; and of pro- 
moting, both for internal and external purposes, a more 
regular use of this invaluable boon. Pure water has 
justly been regarded as an emblem of innocence, truth 
and beauty. In a community in which this element 
shall be used as the chief beverage and more abund- 
antly for purposes of purification we may hope to find 
in the morals of the people reflections of that virtue of 
which water is so vivid a type ; and — a matter which 
more immediately bears on the subject of this Manual 
- — that suffering may be more easily controlled by our 
remedies, and the development of those latent tenden- 
cies to disease most effectually prevented, which the 
habits and fashions of the present age seem to favor. 

Fresh Air. — A proper supply of pure, fresh air is es- 
sential for the preservation of life and health. Although 
life may not be suddenly destroyed by breathing an 
impure atmosphere, still the vital energies are slowly 
but surely impaired, especially those of growing chil- 
dren and persons suffering from disease. 

Bedrooms, in which about one-third of human life is 
passed, are generally too small and badly ventilated. 
The doors, windows and even chimneys are often closed, 
and every aperture carefully guarded to exclude fresh 
air. The consequence is that long before morning 
dawns the atmosphere of the whole apartment becomes 
highly noxious in consequence of the consumption of 



LIGHT. 39 

its oxygen, the formation of carbonic acid and the ex- 
halation of impurities from the lungs and skin. In an 
atmosphere thus loaded with effluvia the sleep is heavy 
and unrefreshing, partaking more of the character of 
insensibility. Due provision for the uninterrupted ad- 
mission of free air and the free escape of impure air 
secures lighter, shorter and more invigorating sleep. 
An airy , w ell-ventilated sleeping apartment should he re- 
garded as one of the most important requirements of life, 
both in health and sickness. With few exceptions, the 
w T indow of the bedroom may be left open, except in 
fpggy weather, with perfect safety. A current of air 
may be prevented from playing on the face of the occu- 
pant by placing the bed in a proper situation, or by sus- 
pending a single curtain from the ceiling. The objec- 
tion that is often urged against night air is met by the 
consideration that there is no other air to breathe. 

Light. — The importance of sunlight for physical de- 
velopment and preservation is much undervalued. It 
is not commonly known that there are chemical rays 
as well as rays of light and heat, and that they have 
an important influence on the healthy growth of all 
animated nature. Women and children, as well 
as men, in order to be healthy and well devel- 
oped, should spend a large portion of each day where 
the solar rays can reach them directly. In very hot 
weather, during the excessive heat of the day, a shady 
tree or grove, or even an airy house, may be sought ; 
but dark parlors and rooms should be shunned, for the 
cold u damp of death." is often within them. Houses 
that have been penetrated and purified by the solar 
rays in the daytime are alone fit to be occupied at 
night. 



40 OBSERVATIONS ON HEALTH. 

The value of sunlight, with its accompanying influ- 
ences, for animal development may be illustrated by 
such facts as the following : In decaying organic solu- 
tions animalculse do not appear if light is excluded, 
but are readily organized when light is admitted. The 
tadpole, kept in the dark, does not pass on to develop- 
ment as a frog, but lives and dies a tadpole, and is in- 
capable of propagating its species. In the deep and 
narrow valleys among the Alps, where the direct rays 
of the sun are but little felt, cretinism, or a state of 
idiocy, more or less complete, commonly accompanied 
by an enormous goitre, prevails as an epidemic, and is 
often hereditary. Rickets, deformities, crookedness 
and swelling of the bones are very common among 
children who are kept in dark alleys, cellars, factories 
and mines. It has been found that, during the preva- 
lence of certain epidemic diseases, the. inhabitants who 
occupy the side of the street and houses upon which 
the sun shines directly are less subject to the prevail- 
ing disease than those who live on the shaded side. In 
all cities visited by the cholera it was invariably found 
that the greatest number of deaths took place in nar- 
row thoroughfares, and on those sides of streets having 
a northern exposure, frdtn which the salutary beams of 
the sun were excluded. It is said that the number of 
patients cured in the hospitals of St. Petersburg was 
four times greater in rooms well lighted than in con- 
fined and dark rooms. This discovery led to a com- 
plete reform in lighting the hospitals of Russia, and 
with the most favorable results. 

Bathing. — As an invaluable aid to health, every per- 
son should bathe or sponge the whole body with cold 
water, immediately following it by vigorous friction, 



BATHING. 41 

and soon afterward exercise in the open air, to pro- 
mote reaction. This tends to health by the removal of 
impurities which clog the pores of the skin, preventing 
free perspiration and the action of the atmosphere. 
Merely washing the hands, face and neck is by no 
means sufficient; the entire surface of the body re- 
quires the application of water, not only for the pur- 
pose of cleanliness, but as a means of invigorating the 
capillary circulation, and so fortifying the system as to 
enable it to resist atmospheric vicissitudes. The secret 
of attaining these ends consists in employing water in 
such a manner and of such a temperature, with the 
body in such a condition before and after the applica- 
tion, that the reaction or glow shall be simply perfect. 
The best time for a cold bath is on rising from bed, be- 
fore the body has become chilled or fatigued. Cold 
bathing should not, therefore, be practiced when the 
body is cold or cooling, or when it is exhausted by 
exertion, or is naturally too weak. It is not always 
necessary to suspend the morning bath during the 
monthly period ; but if cold acts injuriously, tepid 
water should be substituted. A bath should not be 
taken too soon after a meal; nor should the time spent 
in the bath be too long ; that should vary, according to 
circumstances, from about one to four minutes. The 
addition of sea-salt to the water imparts a stimulating 
property which favors reaction; but the use of sea- 
water whenever it can be had permits of bathing to the 
highest perfection. Persons subject to rheumatism, or 
to feeble action of the heart, should not, however, bathe 
in water that is quite cold. Persons with delicate, dry 
skins should not bathe so frequently as those who per- 
spire freely, and have abundant secretion of the seba- 
ceous or oily matter which lubricates the skin. 



42 OBSERVATIONS ON HEALTH. 

Clothing. — Clothing should be arranged with a view 
to comfort, and according to the requirements of the 
season. Summer clothes should not be put on too 
soon, or winter ones too late. Thin-soled boots and 
shoes are destructive to health. So are stays. The 
body is strong enough to support itself; while stays 
often bring on diseases of the lungs and other impor- 
tant organs. The muscles of the body were intended 
to sustain it erect, but when stays are applied they 
soon become indispensable, by superseding the action 
of the muscles ; and, in accordance with a well-known 
law of the muscular system, when the muscles cease to 
be used they cease to grow. 

The following passage on clothing suggests points of 
great practical importance : 

" The clothing may be either insufficient or im- 
proper ; and this insufficiency or impropriety may be 
either constant, as in leaving uncovered the abdomen, 
thighs and legs of young children, and the neck, chest 
and arms of children and young girls, and in the neg- 
lect to put on flannels in winter ; or it may be only oc- 
casional, as in the adoption of muslin and low-bodied 
dresses by ladies, and thinner neckties, vests and boots 
by gentlemen, for evening parties ; and in the neglect- 
ing to add more clothing during sleep. The frequency 
with which disease results in children from the inhu- 
man practice of leaving their digestive, respiratory and 
other organs, and their extremities, exposed to the 
chilling blasts and varying temperature of our atmos- 
phere, is unfortunately too well known to need that I 
should enter into any proof; nor need I more than 
protest against the cruelty of leaving those parts naked 
in children that we find it absolutely necessary to 



EXERCISE. 43 

clothe the most warmly in adult life ; and more espe- 
cially when we reflect that in childhood the body is 
small and the stock of animal heat insufficient, and the 
bodily growth in progress, and that growth is retarded 
and checked by cold and favored by warmth; that 
there is absence of reason and experience to teach how 
to keep up the warmth of the parts exposed ; while in 
adult life the body is large and the stock of animal 
heat more adequate, the growth complete, and reason 
and experience possessed. I am convinced that many 
of the cases of infantile diarrhoea, cholera, constipa- 
tion, remittent fever, dropsy after scarlatina, maras- 
mus, phthisis, bronchitis, pneumonia, quinsy, hoarse- 
ness and ophthalmia result from this exposure."* 

Exercise. — This is essential to health and long life. 
No one in health should neglect to walk a moderate 
distance every day in the open air, if possible in the 
country, where pure air can be freely inhaled. Other 
things being equal, this will insure the proper action 
of every important function. The walk for health 
should be diversified, including ascents and descents, 
and varying scenery ; and be alternated, when circum- 
stances will admit of it, with riding on horseback, 
rowing, swimming, gardening, or similar pursuits. 
Such modes of exercise, practiced moderately and reg- 
ularly, and varied from day to day, are much more ad- 
vantageous than the exciting, immoderate and irregu- 
lar exertions of the ball-room, the hunting-field, the 
cricket-ground, or the rowing match. For feeble and 
infirm persons, carriage exercise, if it may be so called, 
and frictions over the surface of the body and extremi- 

* " Taking Cold," by J. W. Hay ward, M.D. 



44 OBSERVATIONS ON HEALTH. 

ties, by means of towels and bath-gloves, may be sub- 
stituted for active exertion. 

The proper periods for exercise are when the system 
is not depressed by fasting or fatigue, or oppressed by 
the process of digestion. The robust may take exer- 
cise before breakfast, but delicate persons, who often 
become faint from exercise at this time, and languid 
during the early part of the day, had better defer it 
till from one to three hours after breakfast. An evening 
walk, in fine weather, is also advantageous. Exercise 
prevents disease by giving vigor and energy to the 
body and its various organs and members, and thus en- 
ables them to ward off or overcome influences which 
tend to impair their integrity. It cures many diseases 
by equalizing the circulation of the blood and the dis- 
tribution of nervous energy, thus invigorating and 
strengthening weak organs, and removing local torpor 
and congestion. 

Tobacco. — Tobacco and snuff, in every form, are highly 
prejudicial if taken in excess or by the young. To- 
bacco-smoking often induces thirst and vital depression, 
and, as it is generally accompanied by spitting, w T astes 
the saliva and leads to the worst and most obstinate 
forms of indigestion. The secretions of the mouth 
should never be expectorated, unless they are the pro- 
ducts of disease, as in catarrh. Under no circumstances 
should any one become a smoker till after the full de- 
velopment and maturity of the body — that is, from 
twenty-five to thirty years of age. The habitual use of 
tobacco at an early period retards, if it does not stunt, 
the growth of the body. Boys and young men, too, 
have not the excuse for smoking which may be pleaded 
by older men, that it soothes the excitement of the 



THE TISSUE REMEDIES. 45 

nervous system and drives away " the blues," for they 
•^e exempt from the hard wear and tear of adult life. 

There is no doubt that the use of tobacco often pro- 
duces catarrhal conditions of obstinate character and 
an irritable condition of the heart, and should not be 
indulged at all whenever these conditions are present. 

Drugs. — All persons, and especially those under ho- 
moeopathic treatment, we strongly advise not to take 
herb tea, senna, salts, castor oil, pills, soothing sirups 
or other drugs. Caution in respect to aperient drugs is 
especially required, now that such numerous patent 
medicines are advertised and sold in every part of the 
country, doing an incalculable amount of injury. 



CHAPTER III. 
THE TISSUE REMEDIES. 

The new treatment of disease based upon Biochem- 
istry, first introduced by Dr. Schuessler, of Germany, 
has gained so rapidly in acceptance by leading physi- 
cians, and as these remedies, the so-called Tissue Rem- 
edies, have been found to be curative agents of the very 
highest order for all forms of disease, Ave take pleasure 
in presenting a brief outline of this new method, refer- 
ring to the larger and fuller exposition of it in the 
books of Dr. Schuessler, and notably m the recent vol- 
ume on the " Tissue Remedies " by Drs. Boericke and 
Dewey. 

The following indications for the use of these remark- 
able remedies can be relied upon, and have been veri- 
fied by hundreds of physicians in all parts of the 



46 THE TISSUE REMEDIES. 

country. The theory is based upon the following con- 
siderations. 

The body i3 made up of cells. Different kinds of 
cells build up the different tissues and organs of the 
body. The difference in the cells is largely determined 
by the kind of inorganic salts which enter into their 
composition. If we burn the body or any tissue of it, 
we obtain the ashes. These are the inorganic constitu- 
ents of the body, the salts of iron, magnesia, lime, etc., 
which build up its tissues. 

They are the tissue builders, therefore, and both the 
structure and vitality of the body depend upon their 
proper quantity and distribution in every cell. 

The Tissue Remedies are these inorganic cell salts, 
prepared by trituration according to the homoeopathic 
method, and thereby rendered fine enough to be ab- 
sorbed by the delicate cells wherever needed. 

Health is the state of the body when all the cells 
composing the various tissues are in a normal condi- 
tion, and they are kept in this state when each of them 
receives the requisite quantity of the needful salt re- 
quired for the upbuilding of the different tissues. Dis- 
ease is an altered state of the cell, produced by some 
irregularity in the supply to the cells of one of the in- 
organic tissue salts. Imperfect cell action results, dis- 
eased tissues and organs follow, and all the phenomena 
of disease are developed. Now, the cure consists in 
restoring the normal cell growth by furnishing a mini- 
mal dose of that inorganic substance whose molecular 
motion is disturbed, which disturbance caused the dis- 
eased action. To do this successfully it is necessary to 
know what salts are needed for the upbuilding of the 
different tissues and for their normal action. This 



THE TISSUE REMEDIES. 47 

knowledge is derived from physiological chemistry, and 
hence this treatment of disease by supplying the needed 
tissue salt is called the biochemical treatment. 

In the following pages are given, under the different 
names of diseases, the respective tissue remedies that 
will prove curative, based upon the kind of tissue af- 
fected by the different diseases. Thus, in catarrhal 
conditions, for instance, the remedies will be the same, 
whether the catarrh sl\ow r s itself in the throat or nose 
or other organs, since it is the mucous membrane that is 
involved ; and mucous cells, therefore, call for a tissue 
remedy that is lacking. 

By giving a tissue remedy in such a dose as can be 
assimilated by the growing cells the most wonderful 
and speedy restoration to healthy function is brought 
about in every case of curable disease. All diseases 
that are at all curable are so by means of the tissue 
remedies properly prepared to the needs of the organ- 
ism. This is very important, and on it depends the 
success of the treatment, just as much as on the correct 
selection of the particular cell salt. It seems reasonable 
that to make the cell salts immediately useful they 
should be prepared in the same delicate form in which 
nature uses them, and that, if they are absorbed by the 
microscopic corpuscles, they must themselves be finer 
than the corpuscles. We know that the mineral or cell 
salts are infinitesimally subdivided in the different 
kinds of food we take, thus capable of assimilation by 
the cells. 

The cells of each tissue group receive their own spe- 
cial and peculiar cell salt ; for instance, those entering 
into the promotion of nerve cells are Magnesia, Potash, 
Soda and Iron ; of bone cells, Lime, Magnesia and Sil- 



4S THE TISSUE REMEDIES. 

ica, etc., etc., which are, as a rule, extracted by the body 
from the food we take. 

There are twelve Tissue Remedies — the twelve inor- 
ganic salts found in the ashes of the body — all essential 
to the proper growth and development of every part of 
the body. They are the 

Of Lime, Calcarea phosphorica. 

Of Iron, Ferrum phosphoricum. 
Phosphates \ Of Potash, Kali phosphoricum. 

Of Soda, Natrum phosphoricum. 

Of Magnesia, Magnesia phosphorica. 

™ 7 . 7 (Of Potash, Kali muriaticum. 

Chlorides ] ' . . 

I 01 boda, JNatrum muriaticum. 

f Of Lime, Calcarea sulphurica. 

Sulphates \ Of Soda, Natrum sulphuricum. 

1^ Of Potash, Kali sulphuricum. 

Fluoride of Lime, Calcarea fluorica. 

and 
Pure Silica, Silicea, 

Of these, those entering into the formation of Nerve 
Cells, and hence useful as remedies in diseases of the 
nervous system, are Magnesia phos., Kali phos., etc. 

Of Muscle Cells — The same and Kali mur. 

Of Bone Cells — Calcarea, Silicea, etc., etc., etc. 

This method of treating all forms of disease has been 
eminently successful, and can be confidently recom- 
mended as an appendix to the ordinary homoeopathic 
remedies, as they are twelve of the most important reme- 
dies in the Materia Medica not all included in the regu- 
lar homoeopathic books. 

For the chief uses of the Twelve Tissue Remedies see 
chapter on Materia Medica. 



TRITURATIONS. 49 

3. — Medicines : Their Administration, etc. 

Forms of Medicines. — The following brief description 
of the different forms of medicines used in homoeo- 
pathic practice will afford the beginner the necessary 
information on the subject. The preparations are of 
three kinds — Globules or pellets, tinctures, and triturations. 

Globules. — Globules or pellets are of different sizes — 
from the smallest poppy-seed size to large pills. But 
usually the medium-sized ones are saturated with the 
tinctures, and from six to ten are given as a dose, dry, 
on the tongue; or from ten to twenty may be dis- 
solved in a few spoonfuls of water, and teaspoonful 
doses taken of the solution. Pellets are very conven- 
ient for administration, especially for infants and chil- 
dren. 

Tinctures. — Tinctures contain the more active princi- 
ples of the vegetable medicines in a greater or less con- 
centrated form, and are supposed to be more decided 
and rapid in their action in acute diseases than pellets. 
It is therefore advisable for those who reside at a dis- 
tance from medical aid to be furnished w T ith a selection 
of the tinctures adapted to sudden and acute diseases, 
in addition to a complete case or chest of the globules 
or pellets, especially the more common ones. The best 
strength of the liquid preparation for domestic use is 
the third dilution of all vegetable medicines, and the 
sixth of all mineral. It is entirely unnecessary to use 
stronger preparations, and the so-called mother tinct- 
ures should never be used without the advice of a 
physician. 

Triturations. — Triturations are in powder, and contain 
a portion of the original crude substance, triturated 
4 



50 medicines: their administration, etc. 

with a given quantity of sugar of milk ; they are nec- 
essary to the administration of the lower attenuations 
of insoluble medicines, such as Calcarea carbonica, He- 
par sulphuris, Mercurius, Silicea, etc., but are not largely 
used in domestic practice, excepting triturations of the 
Tissue Eemedies. 

Genuine Medicines. — To obtain a beneficial action 
from the remedies prescribed in this Manual it is es- 
sential to procure them absolutely pure. As a safe- 
guard, it is best to obtain them from a person who has 
been educated and is exclusively engaged as a homoeo- 
pathic druggist. Although there are now many re- 
spectable firms in whose ability and integrity the fullest 
confidence may be placed, yet caution is necessary; 
many persons offer for sale homoeopathic medicines who 
have had but little pharmaceutical training, or who are 
chiefly occupied in preparing or selling strong-smelling 
drugs and other articles likely to deteriorate delicate 
and carefully prepared homoeopathic remedies. When 
domestic treatment is likely to be much resorted to, as 
in districts distant from a professional man, or in the 
cases of clergymen, missionaries or emigrants, a medi- 
cal man should be consulted, who will not only be able 
to direct to trustworthy persons of whom the medi- 
cines may be obtained in their pure and most effi- 
cacious forms, but also to suggest hints as to the most 
useful remedies, the dilutions, etc., most likely to meet 
special requirements. 

In our larger cities can always be found homoeo- 
pathic pharmacies that can be relied upon for the purity 
and accuracy of their preparations. 

Medicine Case. — A medicine case should be con- 
structed expressly for the medicines, and used for no 



MEDICINES. 51 

other purpose; it should best be kept locked, and be 
protected from light and heat; it should also be kept 
apart from substances which emit a strong odor. Im- 
mediately after using a vial it should be corked again, 
and the corks or medicines never changed from one 
vial to another. If these directions be carried out, the 
medicines may be kept unimpaired for years. 

Directions for Taking Medicines. — Pellets may be taken 
dry on the tongue, or, when convenient, dissolved in 
pure soft water. They should not be swallowed whole. 
If tinctures are used, the required quantity should be 
dropped into the bottom of a glass or cup, by holding 
the bottle in an oblique manner, with the lip resting 
against the middle of the end of the cork ; the bottle 
should then be carefully tilted, when the tincture will 
descend and drop from the lower edge of the cork. 
AVater should then be poured upon the medicine in the 
proportion of a tablespoonful to a drop. The vessel 
should be clean, the mixture kept covered, and the 
spoon used should not be left in the mixture. If the 
medicine have to be kept several days, a new bottle, 
with a new, sound cork, should be used. 




Medicines. — A list of the chief medicines, and their 
dilutions, prescribed in this Manual : 



52 medicines: their administration, etc. 

LATIN NAMES. DIL. ENGLISH NAMES. 

1 Aconituni napellus 3 Monk's Hood. 

2 Antimonium tartarieum 3 Tartar Emetic. 

3 Arnica montana 3x Leopard's Bane. 

4 Arsenicum album 3x Arsenic. 

5 Belladonna 3x Deadly Nightshade. 

6 Baryta carbonica 6 Carbonate of Baryta. 

7 Bryonia alba 3x White Bryony. 

8 Calcarea carbonica 6 Carbonate of Lime. 

9 Carbo vegetabilis 6 Vegetable Charcoal. 

10 Chamomilla 3x Wild Chamomile. 

11 China lx Peruvian Bark. 

12 Cimicifuga racemosa 3x Black Snake Boot. 

13 Cina 3x Mugwort of Judea. 

14 Coffea 3x Mocha Coffee-Berries. 

15 Colocynthis 3x Bitter Cucumber. 

16 Drosera lx Sundew. 

17 Dulcamara 3x Bitter-Sweet. 

18 Ferrum muriaticum 3 Perchloride of Iron. 

19 Gelsemium sempervirens lx Yellow Jessamine. 

20 Hamamelis 1 Witch Hazel. 

21 Hepar sulphuris 3 Liver of Sulphur. 

22 Ignatia amara 3x St. Ignatius's Bean. 

23 Ipecacuanha lx Ipecacuanha. 

24 Kali bichromicum 3 ... Bichromate of Potash. 

25 Lycopodium 6 Common Club Moss. 

20 Mercurius 6 Mercury. 

27 Nux vomica 3x Vomit Nut. 

28 Phosphorus 3x Phosphorus. 

29 Podophyllum 3 Mandrake. 

30 Pulsatilla 3x Wind Flower. 

31 Rhus toxicodendron 3 Creeping Poison Oak. 

32 Silicea 6 Pure Flint. 

33 Spongia tosta 3x Burnt Sponge. 

34 Sulphur 3 Sulphur. 

35 Veratrum album 3x White Hellebore. 

Also the strong Tincture of Camphor, to be kept separately. 

The Twelve Tissue Remedies: 
Calcarea fluorica. Kali muriaticum. Natrum sulphuricum. 

Calcarea phosphorica. Kali phosphoricum. Natrum phosphoricum. 

Calcarea sulphurica. Kali sulphuricum. Magnesia phosphorica. 

Ferrum phosphoricum. Natrum muriaticum. Silicea. 

External Remedies. — Arnica montana, Calendula officinalis, and Rhus tox- 
icodendron. 

For information respecting the properties and uses of the medicines in the above 
list, and a few others occasionally prescribed, consult the Materia Medica. 



ALTERNATION OF MEDICINES. 53 

Hours. — The most appropriate times for taking medi- 
cines, as a rule, are on rising in the morning, at bed- 
time, and, if oftener prescribed, about an hour before, 
or two or three hours after, a meal. 

The Dose. — In determining the quantity and strength 
of doses, several circumstances should be considered, 
such as age, sex, habits, nature of the disease, etc. As 
a general rule, without reference to individual peculiar- 
ities, the following may be stated as the proper dose in 
domestic practice : For an Adult — One drop of Tinct- 
ure, six Globules, or one grain of Trituration, or 
about a powder size of a pea. For a Child — About 
one-half the quantity. For an Infant — About one- 
third. A drop is easily divided into two doses by 
mixing it with two spoonfuls of water, and giving one 
spoonful for a dose. 

Repetition of Doses. — The repetition of doses must be 
guided by the acute or chronic character of the malady, 
the urgency and danger of the symptoms, and the effects 
produced by the medicines. In violent and acute dis- 
eases, such as cholera, croup, pleuritis, convulsions, 
etc., the remedies may be repeated every ten, fifteen, or 
twenty minutes. In less urgent cases of acute disease, 
the remedy may be repeated every two, three, or four 
hours. In chronic maladies, the medicine may be ad- 
ministered every six, twelve, or twenty-four hours. In 
all cases, when improvement takes place, the medicine 
should be taken less frequently, and gradually relin- 
quished. 

Alternation of Medicines. — To avoid the confusion 
resulting from mixing different drugs in one prescrip- 
tion, and to ascertain the pure action of each, Homoeo- 
paths do not mix several together; but in acute dis* 



54 NUIlSIiNG, DIET, ETC. 

eases, where the symptoms of the malady are not 
covered by a single remedy, and a second one is indi- 
cated, the two are sometimes given in alternation; that 
is, the one medicine is followed by the other at certain 
intervals of time, and in a regular order of succession. 
But the alternate use of medicines should, as much as 
possible, be avoided. 



CHAPTER IV. 

4. — Nursing, Diet, Baths, and Other Accessory 
Treatment. 

On Nursing.— The following hints on the nursing of 
the sick generally, and persons in fever particularly, 
should receive special attention : 

1. The Apartment. — If practicable,the patient should 
be placed in a spacious well-ventilated room, which 
allows an uninterrupted admission of fresh air and the 
free escape of tainted air. Fresh air can only be insured 
from an open window or door, or both. In severe 
and prolonged fevers, there should be two beds in the 
room— one for the day and the other for the night. This 
allows the beds to be made and aired, and the fever- 
poison immediately around the body changed. It is 
generally desirable to have a blazing fire kept burning 
night and day, both in summer and winter ; this also 
assists ventilation; but the patient's head should be 
protected from its direct effects. 

In contagious diseases, and in blood-poisoning, thorough 
ventilation is imperatively required ; for only when the 



CLEANLINESS. 55 

poison of the disease is sufficiently diluted with atmos- 
pheric air, does it lose its power and become inopera- 
tive. The room should also be divested of all super- 
fluous furniture — carpets, bed-hangings, etc. The light 
from the windows should be subdued, noise shut out, 
and unnecessary talking forbidden. 

2. The Bed. — A spring-mattress, or a frame, made of 
fine chain-work, with a horse-hair mattress over it, is 
the best kind of bed ; it is sufficiently soft, and the heat 
may be regulated by the coverings. In a sanitary point 
of view, a feather-bed is most objectionable, for after 
being slept upon from year to year, even by a person in 
health, it becomes foul and impure. But if the body be 
diseased, especially if the disease be an infectious one, 
the feathers imbibe the poison, and may become the 
means of further dissemination. Feather-beds should 
be everywhere superseded by mattresses, or, at least, 
the feathers should be purified at regular intervals, and 
after every case of infectious disease. Feathers may be 
purified by exposing them to the highest degree of heat 
they will bear without scorching. Such instances as 
the following are far from uncommon : A severe and 
fatal case of smallpox, typhus, or scarlet fever occurs 
in a family ; and there properly arises a strong preju- 
dice against the bed on which the patient died. The 
correct course would be to burn it ; but too frequently 
it goes to the broker, who, after, perhaps, renovating its 
exterior a little, sells the pest-laden bed to carry con- 
tagion and, perhaps, death to its future owners. 

3. Cleanliness. — The personal and bed-linen, includ- 
ing the blankets, should be frequently changed, and all 
matters discharged from the body immediately removed. 
The patient's body should be sponged over as com- 



56 NURSING, DIET, ETC. 

pletely as possible at suitable intervals with tepid or 
cold water, as may be most agreeable to his feelings, 
and quickly dried with a soft towel. Vinegar and water 
may now and then be substituted for simple water. 
Vinegar is often very grateful to fever patients. One 
part of dilute acetic acid to six parts of hot water makes 
an excellent lotion. It may be used thrice daily in 
fever, and is very refreshing, if used in the morning, for 
patients in consumption. Rapid sponging of the whole 
surface of the hody should never be omitted in fever ; 
it reduces the excessive heat, soothes the uneasy sensa- 
tions of the patient, and is indispensable in maintaining 
that cleanliness which is so desirable in the sick-room. 
Frequently washing with soap and water also tends to 
prevent the occurrence of bed-sores, by keeping the skin 
in a healthy condition. The mouth should be fre- 
quently wiped out with a soft wet towel, to remove the 
sordes which gathers there in severe forms of fever. 

4. Beverages. — As a beverage,especially in mild cases 
of disease, and at the commencement of all fevers, pure 
w r ater, toast-and-water, gum-water sweetened with a 
little sugar,* or barley-water, lemonade, soda-water and 
other effervescing drinks, or grape-juice, orange-juice or 
jelly is nearly all that is necessary. Tea and coffee, of 
ordinary strength, are often pleasant stimulants, and 
may be given in moderate quantities. If given in too 
large or frequent doses, they may prevent sleep. But 
to relieve thirst, cold water is best and most pleasant, 

* Gum-water is prepared by adding one ounce of gum-Arabic, 
and about half an ounce of loaf-sugar, to one pint of hot water. Gum 
is a mild nutritive substance, admirably adapted to inflammation of 
the mucous membranes, as in catarrh, bronchitis, inflammation of 
the bladder, etc. 



DIET. 57 

and no patient ought to be refused this. In acute fever, 
cold water is like the " Balm of Gilead." Both inter- 
nally and externally, it is an agent of supreme impor- 
tance, and acts favorably by lowering the excessive tem- 
perature, and also as a tonic, giving vigor and tone to 
the relaxed capillaries in which the morbid action prob- 
ably chiefly goes on. The use of water will prove a 
valuable adjunct to the medicinal treatment prescribed, 
and will accelerate those favorable changes which are 
hoped for. 

5. Diet. — In most cases of acute disease, no solid food 
is admissible : simple water, or milk-and-water, gum-, 
rice-, or barley-water, grape or orange-juice, or jelly, 
together with Liebig's extract of beef, being quite suf- 
ficient. This extensively used and extremely valuable 
article of the invalid's dietary is the extracted juice of 
meat, and, by the addition of hot water, instantly 
makes agreeable and nutritious beef-tea. There are 
many varieties. Under other conditions the diet is 
varied as follows : * 

Milk Diet. — This includes all kinds of light puddings, 
made with milk. Arrowroot, gruel, tapioca, rice or sago, 
boiled in milk ; milk-and-bread, etc. ; also tea or cocoa, 
and bread-and-butter. 

Meat Diet. — When this is ordered, meat should be 
taken twice daily ; but for breakfast eggs may sometimes 
be substituted. In many hospitals, the daily allowance 
of meat is fib., including bone. In other respects ordinary 
diet may be taken. 

Extraordinary Diet. — In hospitals, this includes meat, 
fish, poultry, etc. ; also wine, brandy or porter, as speci- 

* See "Essentials of Diet," bv Dr. Kuddock, 



58 NURSING, DIET, ETC. 

ally ordered by the doctor. The quantity of spirits 
wine or beer to be taken by a patient should be regu- 
lated by the special order of a medical man, and none 
taken unless so ordered. Stimulants should also always 
be discontinued when the cause for which they were 
prescribed ceases to exist. 

Different diseases and different constitutions, how- 
ever, require varied kinds of food. Thus, in case of 
diarrhoea, fruits and vegetables should be avoided, 
while a confined state of the bowels is sometimes bene- 
fited by the free use of these articles ; also when febrile 
symptoms are present, meat, eggs, butter and other 
stimulating food should be omitted, and the diet re- 
stricted more particularly to fruits and farinaceous arti- 
cles, or, as before stated, to water and mucilaginous 
drinks alone. For further remarks on diet, see the ar- 
ticle " Dyspepsia." 

6. Regularity of Feeding. — Another point of great 
importance is, that nourishment should be administered with 
strict regularity ; in very extreme cases of prostration, 
every half hour or hour, both day and night. Fre- 
quently the functions of digestion and assimilation are 
so greatly impaired that a large quantity of nourish- 
ment must be given to sustain the patient till the dis- 
ease has passed through its stages. " Little and often " 
is the golden rule for a patient's diet. 

7. Food not to be kept in the Sick-room. — Do not keep 
the food, drink or delicacies, intended for the patient, 
in the sick-room, or within his sight. The air of the 
apartment is liable to deteriorate them, and the con- 
tinuous sight of them to occasion disgust. Rather take 
up for him, at the fitting time, and, by w T ay of surprise, 
two or three teaspoonfuls of jelly, several segments of 



BATHS, ETC. 59 

an orange, or as many fresh grapes as he may consume 
at once. Or, if it be appropriate to his condition, a 
small cup of beef-tea, covered with one or two narrow 
slips of toasted bread, is very much preferable to in- 
viting him to swallow even a less quantity from a ba- 
sinful that has been kept for hours within the reach of 
the patient's hand and eye. 

Serving daintily is often as important as the food it- 
self for many invalids. Have everything pertaining to 
food for the patient immaculately clean, and remove 
the tray at once after he has had sufficient. 

8. Moderation in Convalescence. — Relapses are very 
liable to occur from indulging the appetite too freely 
during convalescence ; and, therefore, toast and black 
tea, jellies, light bread-puddings, white fish, mutton- 
broth, extract of meat, a small quantity of tender 
chicken, broiled mutton, etc., may only be allowed in 
great moderation, but never to the capacity of the ap- 
petite till the tongue is clean and moist, and the pulse, 
skin and temperature have become natural. . Even 
then, extreme moderation should be exercised, as the 
appetite is often excessively craving. 

5. — Baths, etc. 

Warm or Hot Bath.— The patient should be im- 
mersed in warm water up to the neck, and directly af- 
terward a towel or sponge, squeezed out of cold water, 
applied to the head ; the cold towel or sponge may be 
applied for about three minutes, but the patient kept 
in the bath for ten or fifteen minutes. The tempera- 
ture of the w T ater for a hot bath should be about 98° F. 
to 102° F. ; or what can be agreeably borne by the bared 



60 NURSING, DIET; ETC. 

elbow, and for a ivarm bath about 95° F. A thermom- 
eter is, however, the best guide to the heat ; and as 
they are not expensive, one should be kept in every 
family. The temperature should he fully maintained, by 
additions of hot water carefully poured down the side 
of the bath, till the patient is taken out. The bath 
should be given in front of a good fire, and a warmed 
blanket be in readiness to wrap the patient in directly 
he leaves the bath. The hot bath is of great service in 
convulsions, tetanus, etc. ; it draws the blood from the 
overloaded brain to the general surface of the body. 
It is also useful in simple or severe febrile diseases ; in 
spasmodic affections of the bowels, or bladder; in 
prurigo, etc. 

The Hot Foot Bath. — The following will often ar- 
rest colds and fevers in their incipient stages, and im- 
mediately relieve congestive headaches, etc. : On re- 
tiring to bed, the feet should be put in hot water, the 
water rising nearly to the knees ; the patient should be 
undressed, but abundantly and warmly covered; the 
temperature of the water should be maintained and in- 
creased by fresh additions of hot water for ten, twenty, or 
thirty minutes, according to the strength of the patient, 
or until perspiration breaks out about the face. The patient 
should then get into a warm bed, be well covered with 
clothes, and the perspiration encouraged by drinking 
cold water freely. On rising in the morning the cold 
plunge bath should be taken, or the whole surface of 
the body quickly sponged or rubbed over with a wet 
towel or sheet, followed by vigorous friction with a dry 
one. The hot foot bath should not be used too often. 

The Wet Pack. — A mackintosh sheet or stout blanket 
or quilt should be spread on a mattress, and over it, 



THROAT COMPRESS. 61 

leaving a margin at the head, a thick linen sheet, 
wrung out of cold water. In fevers, the colder the 
water is the better ; for very delicate persons with 
feeble reaction, water at 68° may be used. The patient 
is to be extended on his back, naked, on the wet sheet, 
so that the upper edge comes to the top of the back of 
the neck, while the lower edge projects beyond the 
feet ; holding up the arms, one side of the sheet is to 
be thrown over the body and tucked in : the arms are 
now placed by the sides, and the other part of the wet 
sheet is thrown over all and tucked rather tightly in, 
turning in the projecting ends under the feet. The 
mackintosh or blanket is then to be brought over all 
the sheet, and well tucked in round the neck, at the 
sides, and over the feet, so as completely to exclude the 
air. A stout quilt or extra blanket is to be put over all. 
In a short time the patient will become warm ; the sen- 
sation is most agreeable, especially in fevers. The pa- 
tient may remain in the pack three-quarters of an hour 
to an hour, then be put into a shallow bath of water at 
64°, well washed, dried and put to bed. It may be re- 
peated once, twice or thrice a day, according to cir- 
cumstances and the violence of the attack. Perspira- 
tion may be encouraged by frequent sips of cold water. 
If the head becomes congested, or the face flushed 
while in the pack, a cold compress should be applied 
over the forehead. The wet pack is invaluable in the 
early stages of all fevers; and in scarlatina, measles, 
smallpox, etc., it assists in bringing out the eruption. 

Throat Compress. — This is an excellent domestic 
application in various affections of the throat, and may 
be used preventively or remedially in the following 
manner : A piece of linen or flannel should be wrung 



62 NURSING, DIET, ETC. 

out of water, not necessarily cold, and wrapped in two 
or three thicknesses around the throat; this should be 
covered with oiled silk or gutta-percha tissue, and then 
two or three thicknesses of flannel to maintain the 
warmth. When this is applied, the patient should re- 
tire to bed, and he will generally have the satisfaction 
of finding his throat difficulty much relieved in the 
morning. In obstinate cases, the compress should be 
worn day and night, and re wetted as often as it be- 
comes dry. When the compress is taken off, the 
throat and chest should be bathed with cold water, fol- 
lowed by a good rubbing with a towel. However often 
repeated, the wet compress never relaxes the throat. 

Abdominal Compress. — This consists of two folds of 
linen, or a napkin, wrung out after immersion in cold 
water, and applied over the front of the abdomen, cov- 
ered with oiled silk and secured by a flannel bandage 
around the body over a^« 



PART II. 



DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT, 



CHAPTER I. 
GENERAL DISEASES.— (a) BLOOD DISEASES. 



6. — Smallpox (Variola). 

Varieties. — This highly contagious disease is termed 
discrete when the pustules are separate, and confluent 
when they are run into each other, and form contin- 
uous suppurating surfaces. 

Symptoms. — The attack commences like most other 
fevers, and about twelve or fourteen days after the re- 
ception of the poison. There are chilliness, heat, head- 
ache, a thickly furred, white tongue, a deep flush upon the 
face, a feeling of bruised pain all over the body, but es- 
pecially in the back and loins ; more or less pain or ten- 
derness at the pit of the stomach, and sometimes vomiting. 
When the pain in the back and vomiting are violent, 
they may be regarded as the precursors of a severe 
form of the disease. On the third day the eruption 
appears in the form of red spots, or small hard pim- 
ples, w T hich feel as if they were shot in the skin. It 
first comes out on the forehead and on front of the 
wrists, is gradually extended over the body, and may 
also be seen upon the palate. The eruption being com- 
pleted, the fever subsides, the pustules begin to fill like 
boils, are depressed in the center, and are surrounded by 

(63) 



64 BLOOD DISEASES. 

a circular inflamed ring. The eyelids, face and hands 
are swollen, and often the features obliterated. A pe- 
culiar disagreeable odor now begins to emanate from 
the patient, which, once smelt, cannot easily be forgot- 
ten. In about eight days from the first appearance of 
the eruption, the pustules break and discharge their 
contents ; scales then form, which dry up, and, in a 
healthy state of the constitution, fall off in the course 
of four or five days, leaving purplish spots, which do 
not fade away before the sixth or eighth week. 

Diagnosis. — In the early stage, smallpox is chiefly 
distinguishable from the other eruptive fevers by se- 
vere pain in the back and vomiting ; also by the sensa- 
tion which is given by the dots to the finger, as if small 
shots were imbedded in the skin ; this latter is a most 
useful sign by which to determine smallpox from 
scarlatina and measles. 

Dangers. — The greatest danger arises from the sec- 
ondary fever, about the ninth to the twelfth day, when 
the pustules are ripening ; for then the fever is likely 
to return, after the vital strength has already been 
much exhausted. 

Treatment. — Antimonium tart — This is a prominent 
remedy in the disease, and often strikingly relieves the 
spasmodic retching, nausea and hoarse cough, which 
are often very distressing. Ant tart should, therefore, 
be given directly smallpox is suspected, either alone 
or in alternation with one of the following remedies : 

Aconitum, every third hour, for fever, headache and 
restlessness ; if the pulse be not lowered or the skin 
moistened, Veratrum vir. (lx), in hourly drop doses, 
should be resorted to if there be much sickness with 
the fever and very rapid pulse. See also Belladonna. 



SMALLPOX. 65 

Belladonna. — Stupor or delirium, severe headache, or 
ophthalmia. Bell has a direct action upon the brain j 
it also tends to retain the eruption upon the surface. 

Apis. — Considerable swelling of the face and eyelids. If 
the swelling be attended with hoarseness and pain in 
swallowing, Apis and Bell, should be alternated. 

Mercurius. — Ulcerated throat, enlarged glands, saliva- 
tion and diarrhoea, the stools being bloody. 

Carbo veg. — Low typhoid symptoms, with a ten- 
dency to putrescence. 

Galcarea phos. should be given as a tonic during con- 
valescence. A dose three times a day. 

Accessory Means. — As soon as the eruption appears, 
the patient should be placed in a moderately dark 
room, in which there is ample provision made for the 
uninterrupted admission of fresh air, and the free es- 
cape of tainted air; if possible in a room with opposite 
windows, and these should be kept open day and 
night in all seasons. If the weather is very cold, a 
good fire should be kept in the room, and the windows 
left open, the patient having an extra blanket to avert 
cold ; if the weather is mild, the patient should be ab- 
solutely treated in the open air. Nothing is of so 
much importance as pure air, and that in unlimited 
quantities. The patient should be kept cool, and the 
sheets and linen be frequently changed. The posture 
of the patient in bed should be frequently changed, so 
as to avoid constantly lying on his back, or on partic- 
ular parts, otherwise troublesome bed-sores will be 
formed. The diet should be liberal, as the disease is 
an exhausting one, but it must be given in such a form 
as to be readily digested and absorbed ; it should in- 
clude a liberal allowance of milk diluted with about 
5 



66 BLOOD DISEASES. 

one-third soda-water, raw eggs beaten up with milk 
(cold), beef-tea, arrowroot, sago, etc. Tea or coffee, in 
moderation, is often grateful and useful ; but to quench 
thirst, nothing is more pleasant and refreshing than 
pure cold water. Any objection to cold water on the 
part of nurses or friends is to be firmly combated. 
Lemonade, soda-water and other effervescing drinks 
may also be allowed. As soon as the eruption is well out, 
the whole surface should be smeared over with bacon 
fat, the anointing being repeated twice or thrice daily. 
A piece of boiled bacon cut horizontally, leaving about 
a quarter of an inch of fat adhering to the skin, may 
be used to anoint the eruption. It completely prevents 
pitting and allays irritation. As the pimples begin to 
ripen into pustules, and before they break, the skin 
should be sponged with glycerine and rose-water, in 
equal parts, and directly afterward, by the aid of a 
soft puff, the skin covered with a powder prepared by 
mixing one part of the 1st trituration of Tart emetic 
with eight of violet powder. The glycerine water 
causes the powder to adhere, and pitting is effectually 
prevented. The process should be repeated as often as 
necessary. If the patient is a child, his hands should 
be rguffled to keep him from scratching, which might 
lead to ulceration. Two or three times a day, when- 
ever the skin becomes hot or irritable, great relief will 
be afforded by sponging it with tepid water, in which 
carbolic acid has been mixed in the proportion of one 
to sixty. Tepid sponging adds much to a patient's 
comfort; it also hastens convalescence. When the 
pustules have burst, powdered starch should be freely 
applied, to absorb the matter. 



VACCINATION. 67 

7. — Vaccination. 

This is the process by which the disease — vaccinia — 
is artificially introduced into the body for the purpose 
of protecting it against smallpox. 

In performing vaccination there are four precautions 
to be observed : (1) The vaccine lymph should be taken 
direct from the calf, and only when this cannot possibly 
be obtained, from a child free from scrofula or any con- 
stitutional taint. (2) The lancet employed should be 
absolutely clean. (3) The matter should be inserted in 
the left arm, or whichever arm comes least frequently 
in contact with the nurse's body, or in the thigh. Much 
care should be taken to avoid rubbing or irritating the 
vesicles. If the operation is successful, well-marked 
scars will be left. (4) It should be repeated at the age 
of puberty, the great changes which take place at this 
period of life rendering its repetition necessary, and 
during an epidemic. 

8. — Ohickenpox (Varicella). 

On the second day of a slight fever an eruption ap- 
pears similar to that of smallpox, for which it may be 
at first mistaken. But it differs from smallpox (1) in 
the mildness of the fever which attends it ; (2) in the 
appearance of the eruption on the trunk first, on the 
face afterward; (3) in the rapid appearance of the 
spots — twenty-four hours ; (4) in the spots having no 
inflammatory ring around them in the first stage ; (5) 
in the vesicular character of the eruption, the spots of 
which become filled with a watery fluid about the 
second or third day, which is rarely converted into yel- 
low matter ; (6) in the absence of hardness to the touch ; 



68 BLOOD DISEASES. 

(7) in the absence of odor ; and (8) in the rapid course 
of the complaint. Generally on the third day the pus- 
tules dry up, forming crusts or scabs, but no pits. 

Treatment. — It generally requires little else than 
attention to diet and warmth, unless the fever be con- 
siderable, when a few doses of Aconitum may be given. 
For headache and disturbance of the brain, two or three 
doses of Belladonna. 

Hepar may be given to hurry the healing process. 

9.— Measles (Morbilli). 

Measles is a disease of childhood, usually unattended 
with danger, unless improperly treated ; but in adults 
it is often a severe or even dangerous malady. Like 
scarlatina and smallpox, it is highly contagious, often 
epidemic, and generally attacks the same patient only 
once, although there are exceptions to this rule. 

Symptoms. — About eight days after the reception of 
the poison the disease is ushered in with the symptoms 
of a common cold — sneezing, running from the nose, red, 
swollen, and watery eyes, frontal headache, aching in back 
and limbs, shivering, a hoarse, harsh cough, and fever. 
On about the fourth day from the commencement of 
the illness, the eruption appears on the face and neck, 
and soon after on the whole body. It is in the form of 
minute raspberry-colored pimples, which multiply and 
coalesce into blotches of a more or less crescentic form, 
slightly raised above the surrounding skin, particularly 
on the face, which is often a good deal swollen. In 
four or five days the fever abates and the eruption de- 
clines, a bran-like scurf being afterward thrown off the 
skin. 



MEASLES. G9 

Measles differs from scarlatina m several respects. The 
eruption is rough, so that on passing the hand over the 
skin considerable inequalities may be detected, and it 
is of a darkish-scarlet color ; in scarlet fever the rough- 
ness is absent, and, in simple cases of the disease, the 
rash is of a bright-scarlet color. The sneezing, lachryma- 
tion and other catarrhal symptoms which characterize 
the primary stage of measles are usually absent in 
scarlet fever. 

Treatment. — Ferrum phos. may be given as the first 
remedy, and continued so long as the patient seems 
to be doing well, or alternated with any of the other 
remedies that may seem to be indicated. Whenever chest 
symptoms show themselves — cough, pain, etc. — it will be 
the surest remedy. Dose : A powder, size of a pea, dry 
on tongue, or a larger powder dissolved in a tumbler half 
full of water — teaspoonful doses every hour. 

In mild forms Ferrum phos. is all that is needed, 
though in severer cases one or more of the following 
remedies may be required : 

Aconitum. — Patient is very restless. Febrile symp- 
toms, either at the outset or during the progress of the 
disease. A dose every hour or two, as long as neces- 
sary. 

Gelsemium. — If the eruption is slow to appear, the 
patient is drowsy and languid. 

Pulsatilla. — Almost specific when symptoms of cold, 
derangement of the stomach and much phlegm in the 
chest are present. It is most useful after the fever has 
been modified by Aconite or Ferr. phos. ; in the absence 
of fever it may be given alone. Dose every two or 
three hours. It is also useful as a preventive measure. 

Belladonna. — Considerable affection of the throat, dry, 



70 BLOOD DISEASES. 

barking cough, etc. ; restlessness and tendency to deli- 
rium. A few doses, at intervals of two or three hours. 

Bryonia. — Imperfectly developed or suppressed erup- 
tion; stitching pains in the chest, difficult breathing, 
cough, etc. In addition to this remedy, a sudden reces- 
sion of the eruption might necessitate a hot bath. 

Antimonium tart. — Complicated with bad congestive 
bronchitis. 

Sulphur. — After the eruption has completed its natu- 
ral course, and the other remedies are discontinued. A 
Jose morning and night for several days. 

After-effects (Sequels) .--Measles is often succeeded 
by diseases of the lungs, eyes, ears, bones or some affec- 
tion of the skin. These are often far more serious than 
the malady itself, and generally require professional 
treatment. They may generally be prevented by the ad- 
ministration of Sulphur as just directed. Sequelae are 
very infrequent after homoeopathic treatment, unless 
constitutional evils are latent. 

If Sulphur is not sufficient, give Kali mur., a small 
powder size of a pea, morning and evening for a week. 

Measles and Consumption. — Tubercular disease of 
the lungs, or more often of the bowels, is by no means 
an infrequent sequel in delicate or strumous children. 
Cases of this nature are often under our care, and from 
long observation we have reason to believe that such a 
connection is far from uncommon. Whenever, there- 
fore, a child makes but a slow or imperfect recovery 
after an attack of measles, more particularly if there be 
a high temperature, tenderness, pain or enlargement of 
the abdomen, diarrhoea or irregular action of the bowels, 
a grave constitutional disease may be suspected, and no 
time should be lost in obtaining professional homoeo- 



SCARLET FEVER — SCARLATINA. 71 

pathic assistance. Until such is obtained, give Calcarea 
phos., a dose morning and evening. 

Diet and Regimen. — The general directions in the 
chapter on Nursing should be carried out — sponging 
thrice daily with a mixture of one pint of dilute acetic 
acid to six pints of hot water. The wet pack is useful 
at the commencement of the fever. It is especially 
necessary, while securing efficient ventilation, to guard 
the patient from cold, and, except during the very 
height of summer, a fire should be kept burning in his 
room. Exposure to strong currents of air may cause 
the eruption to recede, and bring on bronchitis or pneu- 
monia. But a constant supply of fresh air may be 
secured without exposing the patient to draughts of 
cold air. The patient should be kept warm in bed. 
The room should be equally warmed, well ventilated, 
light, but the eyes protected from strong light. The 
diet should be light and not stimulating. 

Preventive Measures. — Measles is contagious, but 
may generally be prevented, or modified, by giving 
children who have not had the disease a dose of Pulsa- 
tilla, morning and night, during the prevalence of the 
disease. 

10. — Scarlet Fever — Scarlatina (Febris Rubra). 

This is a contagious disease, the poison of which is 
only second in virulence to that of smallpox. The ssc- 
ond, third, fourth and fifth years of life are those in 
which it is most prevalent ; after the tenth year its fre- 
quency rapidly declines. The opinion that the disease 
does not attack children under two years of age is erro- 
neous: as also is the idea that there is a difference 



72 BLOOD DISEASES. 

between scarlatina and scarlet fever ; for the terms are 
synonymous. 

The increasing prevalence of scarlatina during the 
present century leads us to assign to it that pre-emi- 
nent rank among the causes of the mortality of child- 
hood which was formerly occupied by smallpox ; in- 
deed, the mortality from it often exceeds that from 
measles and smallpox combined. The mortality in 
towns is double that in the country. Its fatality during 
the epidemics of 1869-70 was again very great, and for 
many weeks during the latter part of 1870 the mortality 
averaged 108 per w T eek in London alone. In 1884 the 
mortality from the disease in England was 10,863, and, 
in London, 1,530. 

Symptoms. — Scarlatina has a latent period of about 
five days. The disease commences with the ordinary 
precursors of fever — shivering, hot skin, frequent pulse, 
thirst and sore throat, headache, backache, and, often, 
vomiting. On the second or third day, after these 
symptoms, the eruption appears, first on the neck and 
breast, and then over the great joints and body gener- 
ally, as a scarlet efflorescence, minutely point-shaped, but 
not raised above the surrounding skin so as to be felt; 
and somewhat resembles a boiled lobster-shell. On the 
fourth or fifth day the eruption generally begins to de- 
cline, and gradually goes off, the outer skin desquamat- 
ing in large flakes. The distinctive characters of scar- 
latina are — (1) the scarlet rash, just described ; (2) the 
high temperature of the skin and blood, which becomes 
higher than in most other fevers, rising often to 105°, 
from 98°, the normal standard ; (3) the papillae of the 
tongue are red and prominent, and may be first seen pro- 
jecting through a w T hite fur, or, as this fur clears away, 



SCARLET FEVER SCARLATINA. 73 

on a red ground, suggesting the term — "the strawberry- 
tongue;^ (4) the sore throat. The throat is congested 
and swollen round the soft palate and tonsils, and the 
mucous membrane of the mouth and nostrils is gener- 
ally involved. 

For points of difference between scarlatina and measles, 
consult the description of measles. 

Degrees of Intensity. — There are three recognized 
degrees of intensity, viz. : Scarlatina simplex, in which 
the skin only appears to be affected ; scarlatina an- 
ginosa, in which both the skin and throat are in- 
volved ; and scarlatina maligna, with extreme de- 
pression of the vital strength, super-added to the 
affection of the throat and the skin, the fever 
assuming a malignant character. In this form, the 
tongue is brown, there is low delirium, the eruption is 
imperfect, darker than usual, and appearing and disap- 
pearing alternately. The throat is dark, livid and even 
sloughy. Often this form of the disease terminates 
fatally on the third or fourth day, and is always one of 
such extreme danger that none but patients of very vig- 
orous constitutions, w T ith whom skillful treatment is com- 
menced early, survive it. 

Dangers. — (1) Exhaustion from virulence of the 
poison; (2) inflammation of the heart and brain; (3) 
ulceration of the throat, suppuration through the ear, 
and consequent deafness; (4) disease of kidneys and 
dropsy ; (5) rheumatic fever, consequent on exposure 
during convalescence. (See also After-effects.) 

Scarlatina is more prone to assume a malignant form 
than any other of the eruptive fevers, and sometimes 
prevails as an epidemic in low, ill-drained districts. 

Epitome of Treatment. — Scarlatina Simplex. — BelL, 
Aeon.; Ferrum phos. 



74 BLOOD DISEASES. 

Scarlatina Anginosa. — Merc, (ulceration of the throat) ; 
Apis (excessive swelling) and Kali mur. 

Scarlatina Maligna, — Kali phos. and Baptisia. 

If possible, this disease should always be under the 
eare of a homoepathic physician, as the mildest forms, 
neglected, have often led to the worst results. 

Leading Indications. — Belladonna. — Immediately 
scarlatina is suspected, and especially when the rash 
begins to appear, the swallowing becoming difficult, and 
the throat inflamed, Bell, should be given every first or 
second hour, according to the severity of the symptoms, 
and as long as the eruption is bright-red. In the simple 
form of the disease, scarlet fever will frequently yield 
to its action without the aid of other medicines. 

Aconitum. — If the fever be severe and the patient is 
very restless and anxious, a few doses may precede. 

Ferrum phos. may follow Aconite if the fever does not 
goon lessen, and it can also be advantageously alternated 
with Bell, and continued so long as the patient appears 
to progress favorably. Dissolve a powder, the size of a 
lima bean, in ten teaspoonfuls of water, and give one 
teaspoonful every two hours in alternation with Bell. 
The Bell, will be best prepared, also in water, by dis- 
solving five drops in ten teaspoonfuls and giving spoon- 
ful doses. 

Gelsemium.— -In simple cases when the eruption is 
not clear, when the symptoms are remittent, and there are 
much drowsiness and great languor. Face looks darkly 
flushed. 

Rhus tox. — When rheumatic symptoms appear, and 
the patient cannot bear to be still. 

Mercurius. — Inflamed, swollen or ulcerated throat. 
If there is a predominance of the throat symptoms, 



SCARLET FEVER — SCARLATINA. 75 

especially malignant sore throat, Merc, is most valuable. 
This may be alternated with Kali mur. 

Terebinthina. — Disorder of kidneys ; urine smoky and 
dark. 

Arsenicum. — Great prostration of strength ; cold 
clammy sweats; frequent, weak pulse; threatened 
dropsy. Ars. is also valuable during convalescence ; it 
expedites desquamation and tends to prevent sequela?. 

Sulphur. — When the disease is on the decline, to pre- 
vent secondary complaints. A dose morning and night 
for several days ; then follow in the same way with Kali 
mur. 

For the remaining debility, give a dose of Calcarea 
phos., a small powder dissolved in a tumbler of milk, 
morning and evening. 

General Measures. — The hints on Nursing should, 
so far as possible, be strictly carried out. The surface 
of the body should be sponged thrice daily with vine- 
gar or alcohol and hot water to moderate the great heat 
and allay restlessness. Sucking and swallowing small 
pieces of ice are both useful and grateful. A wet band- 
age to the throat, when it is affected, is a sovereign rem- 
edy, and seldom fails to relieve. It should be fastened 
both at the back of the neck and at the top of the head, 
so as to protect the glands near the angles of the jaws. 
Inhalation of steam from hot water is useful when the 
throat is sore and painful. Also the wet pack. 

Prevention. — During the prevalence of scarlatina, a 
dose of Bell. (6 pellets) should be given morning and 
night to children who have not had the disease. Should 
the disease occur notwithstanding this treatment, its 
severity will be much mitigated. Daily out-of-door 
exercise. 



76 BLOOD DISEASES. 

After-effects (Sequelae). — There are several sequelae 
that may follow scarlatina, especially in unhealthy pa- 
tients or districts, or when the disease has not been 
skillfully treated. (1) Inflammation and swelling of 
the glands of the neck, which in scrofulous children 
attain a large size, often suppurate, and burrow under 
the muscles of the neck. Merc, should be administered 
immediately any swelling is observed ; and after several 
days, if the improvement be not rapid, follow with Cede, 
phos. (2) The inflammation of the throat may be ex- 
tended along the Eustachian tabes (small canals which 
extend from the throat to the ear), producing deafness 
by their obstruction, or by the suppuration of the tym- 
panum (drum of the ear), or some other mischief of the 
ear. The remedies recommended are Ferrum phos. and 
Kali mur. (3) But the most frequent and dangerous 
sequel is anasarca (dropsy), which takes place about the 
twenty-second day from the commencement of the fever. 
Dropsy is more frequent after a mild than after a severe 
form of scarlatina, owing probably to the disease not 
having expended all its force, and some of the poison 
remaining in the system; or it may be due to the want 
of caution in such cases during convalescence. Can- 
tharis, when there is suppression of urine, and Arsenicum 
when there is no suppression, are the chief remedies re- 
quired. When there is blood in the urine, the urine 
appearing smoky, give Terebinthina y a dose three times a 
day. 

11. — Enteric or Typhoid-— Typho-Maiarial Fever. 

Symptoms. — The most characteristic are — Great debil- 
ity, gradually coming on; dizziness; weariness and 



TYPHOID AND TYPHOID-MALARIAL FEVERS. 77 

restless anxiety ; ringing noises in the ears ; and often 
deafness ; black spots before the eyes ; low mutter- 
ing delirium; stupor; gray-colored watery stools are 
a decided symptom, followed often by bloody and of- 
fensive stools ; tongue coated at first with a gray fur, 
then brown and dry, gums and lips covered with a 
darkish matter, called sordes ; face yellowish ; eyes dull ; 
loss of appetite and great prostration ; gradual rise of 
temperature, with marked morning remissions. Fever 
lasts from two to six weeks. 

Epitome of Treatment. — First Stage. — Baptisia. 

Great Prostration. — Ars., Verat., or Rhus tox. 

Involvement of the Lungs. — Ferrum phos. and Bry. 

Involvement of the Brain.— Bell., Rhus. 

Involvement of the Bowels. — Ars., Bapt., Carbo veg. 

Nervous Debility following. — Ferrum phos., Kali phos., 
China. 

Leading Indications. — Gelsem. — Rapid pulse, severe 
headache, vomiting, and even delirium. Very tired and 
drowsy. 

Baptisia. — Follows Gelsem, after a few days, and when 
typhoid is strongly suspected. Tongue coated, marked 
gastric disturbance, dullness and headache. 

Bryonia. — Bitter taste, brown-coated, rough tongue, 
bilious derangement, nausea, confined bowels, stupefying 
headache, cough, stitches in the chest, and irritable dispo- 
sition. When there are furred tongue, rheumatic pains, 
and restlessness, Bry. may be alternated with Rhus 
every third hour. 

Belladonna. — Violent headache, redness and conges- 
tion of the face ; a wild, red and fiery appearance of 
the eyes ; throbbing and distension of the bloodvessels 
of the temples ; wakefulness and nocturnal delirium, 
and other cerebral symptoms. 



78 BLOOD DISEASES. 

Mercurius. — Copious debilitating perspirations; thick- 
coated tongue, foul mouth, throat, breath, etc. ; diar- 
rhceic evacuations, greenish or yellowish ; tenderness at 
the pit of the stomach. 

Arsenicum. — Extreme debility, prostration, rapid sink- 
ing, with very small, thready pulse; burning thirst; 
dark, offensive diarrhoeic discharges; cold perspira- 
tions * t symptoms worse at night. 

Rhus tox. — Foul discharges from the bowels ; livid 
color of the skin; paralytic symptoms; extreme weak- 
ness and prostration ; low muttering delirium ; picking 
of the bed-clothes; offensive, putrid, or bloody diar- 
rhoea; dry, cracked tongue; great thirst, and scanty 
urine. 

Carlo veg. — Offensive smells from the patient; invol- 
untary putrid evacuations ; deep-red urine ; pinched, 
sunken countenance ; burning in the abdomen and pit of 
the stomach ; cold extremities ; rapid sinking, and scarcely 
perceptible pulse. 

Administration. — Of the selected remedy, put ten 
drops in a tumbler containing twenty spoonfuls of 
boiled, cooled water, and give the patient a spoonful 
every two or three hours. Do not give the remedy in 
pellets dry on the tongue, as the patient sickens of it 
very soon. 

Accessory Treatment. — Offer frequently sips of pure 
cold, previously boiled water. 

Watching Patients. — Fever patients should never 
be left alone, but attended and watched day and night. 
Their urgent and incessant wants require this, and their 
safety demands it. Instances have occurred of patients, 
in the delirium which so frequently attends fever, get- 
ting out of bed, and even out of the window, during 



SIMPLE FEVER. 79 

the absence of the nurse, and losing their lives from 
injury. 

12. — Simple Fever (Feverishness). 

Simple fever is the mildest form in which a feverish 
attack occurs, and as it generally disappears in from 
twelve to thirty-six hours, it is termed an ephemeral 
disease. 

Symptoms. — A feverish attack usually commences in 
the afternoon or evening, with alternate chills and 
flushes, followed by heat and dryness of the skin ; hard, 
full, quick pulse ; dry coated tongue ; thirst ; hurried, 
anxious breathing ; and highly colored and scanty urine. 
Also, often, pain in the loins, headache, deranged bow- 
els, and loss of appetite. As these symptoms may be 
precursors of serious diseases, they require prompt 
attention. 

Causes. — Suppressed perspiration, exposure to damp 
or cold, sudden changes of temperature, wearing damp 
clothes ; errors in diet ; injuries, internal or external ; 
fatigue, etc. ; o.r it may be a modified variety of one of 
the forms of fever described in the preceding sections. 

Treatment. — Aconitum is found to be the chief rem- 
edy for all such symptoms as those above indicated, 
when there is no toxaemia (l)lood-poisoning) ; and it will 
most effectually calm the arterial excitement; it has 
been termed the homoeopathic lancet. Perspiration fol- 
lowing its administration is the welcome indication of 
its beneficial action. A dose every two or three hours, 
or, in urgent cases, every half-hour or hour, till perspira- 
tion breaks out, when this remedy may be discontinued. 

Ferrum phos. may follow Aconitum or may be alternated 
with it, especially if there are symptoms of a cold on the 
chest, cough, pain, etc. 



80 BLOOD DISEASES. 

Gelsemium is often called for in children, when they 
have feverish attacks, often in the afternoon— the dry 
heat increasing toward night, and then passing off with- 
out perspiration. The little patient is drowsy, dull, 
stupid, tired, and has no appetite. 

Camphor. — Sudden seizure of chilliness ; shivering, with 
lassitude, and general indisposition which has come on 
rapidly. Two drops of the strong tincture on a small 
piece of loaf-sugar, or half a dozen pellets, repeated 
three times, at intervals of fifteen or twenty minutes, 
may precede Aconitum, or it may be alone sufficient if 
taken promptly at the onset. 

Accessory Treatment. — For ephemeral attacks, cold 
water is generally the only beverage required. If the 
attack continues a day or two, a milk diet should be 
adopted. 

13.— Ague — Intermittent Fever: 

Intermittent fever is so named because the febrile 
symptoms return in paroxysms, between which they 
entirely pass off. It is not infectious. 

Symptoms. — A typical paroxysm of ague has three 
stages — the cold, the hot and the perspiring. The first 
stage commences with chilliness and rigors, chattering 
of the teeth, aching of the back and limbs, oppression 
of the chest, yawning and sighing. The face and lips 
are pale, the features and skin contracted, the pulse 
frequent and small, the tongue white, and the urine 
scanty and frequently passed. In the second stage flush- 
ings come on, until the entire body becomes hot, with 
thirst, bounding pulse, throbbing headache and rest- 
lessness, the urine being still scanty, but high-colored. 



AGUE — INTERMITTENT FEVER. 81 

At length the third or perspiring stage succeeds, and the 
patient feels much relieved. Thirst diminishes, the 
pulse declines in frequency, and the appetite returns : 
at the same time there is a red deposit of urates in the 
urine. A paroxysm usually lasts about six hours, 
allowing two hours for each stage. The period between 
the paroxysms, as already explained, is called the 
intermission ; but by an interval is meant the whole pe- 
riod or cycle between the beginning of one paroxysm 
and the beginning of the ne 

Types. — There are three chief types of ague : 1st — 
The quotidian has a paroxysm daily, coming on in the 
morning from 7 to 9 a.m., and an interval of twenty- 
four hours. 2d — The tertian has a paroxysm every 
other day, coming on from 10 to 12 o'clock at noon, and 
an interval of forty-eight hours. 3d — The quartan has 
a paroxysm every third day, coming on from 2 to 4 p.m., 
and an interval of seventy-two hours. The tertian is 
the most frequent and has the most marked hot stage ; 
but the quartan is the most obstinate, and chiefly oc- 
curs in the autumn. There is still another type, in 
which, though there is an attack every day, those only 
resemble each other which occur on alternate days. 

Effects. — From the recurrence of internal conges- 
tions in each cold stage the functions of the liver and 
bowels become disordered, the patient is sallow, his 
limbs waste, but his abdomen is distended, and his 
bowels constipated. The spleen is especially liable to 
be enlarged, sometimes to a great extent, so as to be 
felt externally. This condition is popularly called 
ague-cake. 

Causes. — The exciting cause of ague is marsh miasma, 
which is probably a microscopic fungus (bacillus malaria) 
6 



82 BLOOD DISEASES. 

growing on decomposing vegetable matter, and most 
rife when the land is drying after having been pre- 
viously soaked with water. It is, therefore, most fre- 
quent in the spring and when the rains have fallen 
upon the decaying leaves in autumn, and where the 
ground is dug up. 

Laws. — Malaria obeys the following laws, which, 
practically, are worth nothing : 1st — It spreads in the 
course of prevailing winds. 2d — Its progress is arrested 
by rivers and running streams and by rows of trees. 3d — 
It does not rise above the low level. 4th — It is most 
dangerous at night 

Preventive. — Persons going into malarious districts 
should take for a short time before two grains of sul- 
phate of quinine (ix), night and morning, and con- 
tinue the same at increasing intervals during their stay. 
If Quinine is not tolerated, two grains of Ars. (3x) 
should be given in the same way. In persons sensi- 
tive to the action of Ars. the third centesimal tritu- 
ration may be given in place of the third decimal. 

Treatment. — Palliative treatment is adopted during 
the paroxysms to mitigate the symptoms, and consists 
chiefly in imparting warmth during the cold stage, 
removing the patient's coverings and giving cooling 
drinks during the hot, and supplying him with warm 
and dry linen when the perspiring stage has passed by. 
The curative is adopted during the intermission, and is 
of the greatest importance. 

China. — Ague in marshy districts, with its regular 
stages; yellowish complexion, drowsiness, tender or 
swollen liver or spleen and watery or bilious diarrhoea. 
A dose just before an expected paroxysm and every 
four hours through the intermission. 



CHOLERA. 83 

Arsenicum. — Simultaneous or alternate heat and 
shivering, or internal shivering with external heat; 
burning heat, thirst, pains in the stomach, debility and 
tendency to dropsical swellings ; also when Quinine or 
Bark has been used to excess. 

Ipecacuanha. — Xausea and vomiting, distressed breath- 
ing, watery diarrhoea and other gastric symptoms. 

Xatrum mur. — When the chill is apt to come on in 
the forenoon, about 10 o'clock ; much thirst, little blis- 
ters form around the mouth ; and after much Quinine 
has been taken. This remedy alone will often cure the 
most obstinate chills. 

Accessory Measures. — If practicable, residence in a 
well-drained district, with a dry, bracing atmosphere. 
If compelled to remain in a malarious atmosphere, the 
patient should sleep in the loftiest rooms in the house, 
and not expose himself to night air. Air and light 
should be freely admitted during the middle of the day 
into the house, but night air carefully excluded. Light, 
nourishing diet may be taken, but the digestive organs 
not overtaxed. Fatigue and cold draughts of air must 
be avoided, and the clothing should be sufficient to be 
comfortable. 

14. — Cholera (Cholera Pestifera). 

Definition. — This is an acute, miasmatic disease, 
characterized by 'purging of profuse watery discharges, 
unmixed w T ith bile; vomiting ; coldness of the surface, 
tongue and breath ; unquenchable thirst; suppressed urine ; 
collapse, and, unless reaction comes on, death. 

In this much-dreaded disease, which resists the 
efforts of the old system, Homoeopathy has won bril- 



84 BLOOD DISEASES. 

liant triumphs. Its success in the prevention and cure 
of cholera and other violent diseases has contributed 
greatly to its rapid spread in every part of the world. 

Treatment. — If possible, cholera should always be 
treated by a homoeopathic practitioner, but the admin- 
istration of Camphor should be commenced immedi- 
alely the earliest symptoms are noticed. We shall only 
indicate a few of the remedies and measures which 
have been found most useful. 

Camphor (strong saturated tincture) is one of the first 
and most important medicines to be administered, un- 
der whatever form the disease presents itself. Its spe- 
cial indications are sudden prostration, the body gen- 
erally becoming cold ; pains in the stomach and bowels ; 
irregular pulse ; cold sweat on the forehead ; giddiness ; 
noise in the ears; swelling of the abdomen from wind; 
and severe purging. Two to five drops of the strong 
tincture on a small piece of loaf-sugar every five or ten 
minutes; as soon as the patient becomes warm the 
doses may be given less frequently, and discontinued 
when full perspiration takes place. At the same time 
the patient should be placed in a warm bed, have hot- 
water bottles applied to the feet and abdomen, and be 
allowed to sip cold water or suck ice. 

Arsenicum. — Violent burning pains in the stomach; 
excessive thirst ; suppression of urine ; clammy sweat ; 
weak, tremulous pulse ; cramps and entire prostration of 
strength. It is the great remedy when the time for 
curing with Camphor has passed. Two-drop dose every 
hour. 

Veratrum. — The chief indications for this remedy are 
violent and continuous vomiting and purging ; cramps in 
the legs; a shriveled appearance of the skin; cold 



WHOOPING-COUGH. 85 

tongue; cadaverous and pinched appearance of the 
face. Two-drop dose every hour. 

Preventive Measures. — During the prevalence of 
cholera there are usually premonitory symptoms, such 
as general uneasiness, bitter taste in the mouth, fullness 
and pressure at the pit of the stomach, cramps, slight 
diarrhoea, a rumbling in the bowels; the symptons should 
be promptly checked. Much time may be saved, and life 
spared, by families providing themselves with a small 
case of homoeopathic remedies, including a small bot- 
tle of Arsenicum and Veratrum ; also a bottle of Cam- 
phor, which must be kept by itself. It is a well-estab- 
lished fact that workers in copper mines, and others 
impregnated with the metal, possess immunity against 
cholera. From this has come the use of the copper 
plates worn next the skin. 

The following advice is worth remembering : " Should cholera prevail, the 
means to avoid an attack are to maintain cheerfulness of spirits (remembering 
that the disease is not contagious) ; using a temperate but generous diet; avoid- 
ing late suppers ; keeping early hours ; sleeping in the highest room in the house ; 
and carrying a small bottle of strong camphorated spirit in the pocket for the use 
of others as well as yourself; and, if compelled to pass the neighborhood of 
fetid drains, ditches, or other suspected places, to moisten the tongue with a drop 
of the camphorated spirit before inhaling the stench, it being known to Homoe- 
opaths that as Camphor is the antidote to most of their infinitesimal medicines, so 
it is an antidote to the cholera poison suspended in the air, and inhaled into the 
lungs in infinitesimal quantity, provided the Camphor is applied before the poison 
has begun to operate on the blood." — H. Kemsall, M.D. 

15. — Whooping-Oough (Pertussis). 

This is an epidemic and contagious disease, usually 
of a mild character in healthy children, but a distress- 
ing and sometimes a fatal malady in the delicate or 
scrofulous. 

Symptoms. — It generally commences as a common 
cold, accompanied by hoarseness and a cough, which 



86 BLOOD DISEASES. 

returns in fits at intervals. In about a week the cough 
returns at short intervals, in paroxysms of extreme se- 
verity, the child turning red or almost black in the 
face, and appearing as if choking, during which the 
lungs are emptied of air to the last degree ; and then a 
long sonorous inspiration, taken to refill them, consti- 
tutes the " whoop." This is the sign of safety. The 
attacks recur every two or three hours, or, in severe 
cases, oftener, and are worse at night. Sometimes 
blood escapes from the nose, mouth, and even from the 
ears. The fits pass off with the expectoration of glairy, 
ropy mucus, and sometimes sickness. If dentition be 
going on, convulsions are not infrequent. Whooping- 
cough is sometimes complicated with measles, small- 
pox, bronchitis, etc., which add to the difficulties of 
treatment. 

Cause. — A specific unknown poison, communicated 
through the atmosphere, which irritates the pneumogas- 
tric nerve. 

Treatment. — It is not always easy to positively 
diagnose whooping-cough before the setting in of the 
whoop ; but it is always best in an epidemic to give 
preventive remedies, which will tend to modify the at- 
tack. 

Preventive Treatment.— Give Corallium, six pellets, 
morning and evening for three days, then Drosera in 
the same way, and continue for some time. 

Drosera. — When the cough is loud and hoarse, the 
paroxysms frequent and violent, causing perspiration 
and vomiting of food and mucus. A dose every four 
hours or after every fit of coughing. Drosera is often 
sufficient in uncomplicated cases ; but scrofulous chil- 
dren require professional treatment. 



WHOOPING-COUGH. 87 

Belladonna.— For dry, spasmodic cough, worse at 
night ; head hot, throat sore and dry ; much thirst. 

Arnica. — When there is bleeding from the nose, or 
spitting of blood with each fit of coughing ; or when 
there is rupture of a small bloodvessel under the cov- 
ering membrane of the eye (conjunctiva), causing the 
white of the eye to become blood-stained. 

Veratrum. — Great exhaustion, cold perspiration, invol- 
untary escape of urine during the cough ; pains in the 
abdomen and groin ; anxious expression. 

Magnesia phos. is sometimes almost specific. If no 
other remedy seems specially indicated, give a small 
powder, size of a pea, every two to three hours. 

Ferrum phos. and Bryonia should be given when 
there is danger of bronchitis or lung fever, of which 
there is danger, if not carefully guarded against. 

Accessory Means. — In warm, fine weather, the pa- 
tient may remain in the open air during a portion of 
each day; but if there is fever present, the patient must 
remain in the house, and, so long as the fever lasts, in 
bed. If the paroxysms are very distressing and fre- 
quent, considerable relief can often be obtained from 
inhaling the steam of cresolin or carbolic acid, a few 
drops of either being put into an atomizer, and the room 
impregnated. But it is a disagreeable procedure and 
not always necessary. Exposure to damp and draughts 
should be strictly avoided ; also fits of anger, as they 
add to the violence and frequency of the paroxysms. 
Infants should be watched constantly, taken up as soon 
as a fit comes on, and placed in a favorable posture. In 
obstinate cases, change of air, if only for a short dis- 
tance, will prove of great utility. Frictions with olive 
oil, or with simple liniment, over the chest and along 
the spine, in a warmed room, are often palliative. 



88 BLOOD DISEASES. 

Diet. — Light, digestible food only, in moderate quan- 
tities, and shortly after the fits. Cold water is the best 
beverage ; but for variety the following may be given 
as required : barley-water, gum-water or toast and water 
are grateful and somewhat nutritive. 

16. — Mumps (Parotitis). 

This complaint consists of inflammatory swelling of 
the salivary glands, especially those below the ears, 
frequently with pain, soreness and difficulty in moving 
the jaws. A curious circumstance connected with this 
disease is, that as the swelling of the neck and throat 
subsides, there is liability to swelling and tenderness of 
the testicles in the male, and the mammae in the fe- 
male, especially when the swelling subsides suddenly, as 
on exposure to cold or from cold applications. It is 
contagious and painful, but not dangerous. 

Treatment. — Mercurius is the first and chief remedy, 
and is generally sufficient to effect a cure. A dose 
three or four times daily. 

Belladonna. — Severe pain, with a tendency to deli- 
rium ; mumps following measles, or with an erysipela- 
tous inflammation. 

Pulsatilla. — Useful when the breasts or testicles are 
affected. 

Accessory Means. — Frequent hot fomentations, cov- 
ering the parts in the interval with a flannel bandage. 
The patient should be protected from cold, damp or 
excitement, as a liability to relapse remains for several 
weeks. 

If the testicles become swollen, apply hot Hamamelis 
extract, and wrap up in a soft flannel. 



INFLUENZA. 89 

17. — Influenza — The Grippe (Catarrhus Epidemicus). 

This is an epidemic catarrh, and is so called from 
the Italian word which means " influence," because it 
arises from some peculiar condition or contamination 
of the atmosphere. It most commonly attacks adults 
of feeble resisting power. 

Symptoms. — These differ but little from common 
cold, except that the general debility is greater and more 
persistent. There are chilliness, anxiety, heat, head- 
ache, pain of the back and limbs, cough, nausea, suffu- 
sion of the eyes, sneezing, and an acrid discharge from 
the nostrils, with great depression of strength. 

The most recent epidemic, that raged throughout 
Europe, and to some extent in this country, was charac- 
terized by very defined symptoms. As a rule, the at- 
tacks set in rather suddenly, with aching and soreness 
throughout the body ; patient feels as if beaten, as if 
bones were broken, with rheumatic pains through the 
joints everywhere, coming and going quickly. Sleep 
restless, throat scrapy, dry, hot; head more or less dull 
and aching ; very thirsty and restless. The cough sets 
in later, with great soreness under the sternum ; every 
time the patient coughs, it feels sore and raw. Sneezing 
and coughing, great aching and prostration, are the chiej 
symptoms. 

Diet and Regimen. — Beef-tea, milk-punch and fari- 
naceous food, with repose in bed, or confinement in a 
room of uniform temperature. During fever, loss of 
appetite, etc., toast-and-water or barley-water will be 
more suitable, adopting, as the fever abates, a generous 
diet. It is best to put the patient to bed. 

Treatment. — The first remedv to be thought of is 



90 BLOOD DISEASES. 

Gelsemium, which corresponds to the languor, feverish- 
ness and headache and general malaise 

Ferrum phos. — Fever, pain in joints and cough, sore 
throat, muscular pains. 

Bryonia may be alternated with it when above symp- 
toms are present and every movement is painful and 
the patient is very thirsty. 

Rhus. — When, with all the soreness and lameness, 
patient must move his limbs to get relief. 

Euphrasia. — Congestion of nose, eyes and head ; 
symptoms of coryza with much cough and expectora- 
tion. 

Arsenicum. — For great prostration, restlessness, much 
fluid, burning discharge from nose ; thirsty, but patient 
drinks very little at a time. 

Administration. — Dissolve the remedy selected in 
water, and take a dose every hour. 

18. — Erysipelas — St. Anthony's Fire. 

Symptoms. — Simple erysipelas, the variety treated 
of here, is marked by a spreading, inflammatory red- 
ness of the skin, with puffy swelling, tenderness, burn- 
ing, and a painful sensation of tingling and tension. 
The color of the skin varies from a light-red to a dark- 
red or purplish color, becoming white under pressure, 
but assuming its former appearance on removal of that 
pressure. An attack is often ushered in with shiver- 
ing, languor, headache, and sometimes nausea, vomit- 
ing, or diarrhoea. 

Causes. — Debility, and loss of resisting power from 
disease ; the habitual use of stimulants ; exposure to 
cold ; impaired digestion ; wounds ; badly ventilated 



ERYSIPELAS — ST. ANTHONY 's FIRE. 91 

or crowded apartments ; and certain conditions of the 
atmosphere. A recent wound or bruise is a chief exciting 
cause ; neglect of cleanliness, intemperance, unwholesome 
food and bad air are the predisposing causes. 

Treatment. — Ferrum phos. — When there is much 
fever. 

Belladonna. — Severe, bright-red, smooth eruption, 
with headache, thirst, constipation, thick urine, etc. 

Apis, — Rapid swelling of the parts, stinging pain, 
rosy hue of skin, scanty urine. 

Rhus tox. — Vesicles (little bladders), whether on the 
face or body, with swelling, shiny redness of the parts, 
and restlessness. A dose every second or third hour. 

Accessory Measures. — In mild cases, no external 
application is required, unless fluid exudes, which may 
be absorbed by dusting powdered starch or flour over 
the surface. In severe cases, warm fomentations, and 
afterward flour or fine starch, should be sprinkled over 
the parts. Incisions, poultices and bandages may be 
necessary, should matter form. 

Diet. — Gum-water, barley-water, or pure water, to 
allay thirst. Bad and tedious cases require beef-tea 
and good nourishment at regular intervals and, subse- 
quently, change of air. 



92 CONSTITUTIONAL DISEASES. 



CHAPTER II. 

GENERAL DISEASES.— (b) CONSTITUTIONAL 
DISEASES. 



19. — Acute Rheumatism — Rheumatic Fever — 
and Chronic Rheumatism. 

Symptoms. — Acute rheumatism sets in with general 
febrile disorder, followed by acute inflammation of the 
fibrous structures about one or more of the larger 
joints — the shoulder, elbow, knee, ankle, etc. The 
affected joints are swollen, tense, stiff, slightly red- 
dened, very painful, and the pain is so increased by 
movement that a patient often says he has lost the use 
of the limb. The skin is hot, tawny in color, but 
covered with a sour sweat, having an offensive odor; 
the pulse is round and full ; the tongue is furred ; the 
urine is highly colored and turbid when cool, and the 
bowels generally confined. Palpitation and continued 
pain in the heart are unfavorable symptoms. The in- 
flammation is liable to metastasis from one joint to 
another, or to other fibrous structures, as the pericardium 
the valves of the heart, etc. (See also under " Gout") 

Muscular rheumatism includes lumbago (see the 
next section), pleurodynia or false pleurisy — rheumatism 
of the muscles of the chest —crick in the neck — when 
the cervical muscles are affected, etc. The treatment, 
however, is nearly the same in the different varieties. 

Causes. — Exposure to cold and wet ; sudden suppres- 
sion of perspiration ; and especially evaporation from 
wet clothes, causing chill, induce an altered condition 
of the blood which produces pain. It occurs most fre- 



RHEUMATISM. 93 

quently in young persons, from twenty to thirty years 
of age, or younger. Joints which have been sprained, 
long and excessively exercised, or otherwise impaired, 
are particularly prone to suffer. 

Treatment. — Aconitum. — Acute rheumatism, chiefly 
at the commencement; violent shooting or tearing 
pains, aggravated by touch ; swelling and redness of 
the affected parts; impaired appetite; high-colored, 
scanty urine, and other febrile symptoms. A dose 
every second or third hour. 

Ferrum phos. — For similar symptoms. Pain and 
swelling of joints ; fever. 

Bryonia. — Lancinating or stitching muscular pains, 
ivorse on movement or touch; rheumatism affecting the 
joints and muscles of the chest, with catching or pain- 
ful breathing (false pleurisy). 

Rhus tox. — Pains worse during rest, the patient con- 
stantly turning about for ease, yet finding but little ; 
deep, tearing, or bruised pains ; rheumatism from get- 
ting wet, aggravated by damp or cold weather. 

Mercurius. — Puffy swelling of the affected parts ; the 
pains seem to be in the bones, and are worse with 
warmth and at night; profuse perspiration without relief. 

Pulsatilla. — Wandering rheumatism; rheumatism re- 
lieved by cold; sensation of torpor in the limbs; pale 
face; diarrhoea, etc. 

Calcarea phos. — Pain in joints at every change of 
weather. Rheumatism in young people who are 
developing. 

Accessory Means. — During the fever, the patient 
should remain in bed, and the diet be restricted to free 
draughts of water, milk-and-water, barley-water, gruel, 
etc. ^ranges, grapes, lemons, may be given ; but apples, 



94 CONSTITUTIONAL DISEASES. 

pears and stone-fruit should be withheld. Warm baths 
or hot compresses are both useful and comforting. 
Wet-packing of the whole body (pp. 60, 61), or of the af- 
fected parts, according to circumstances, is a most use- 
ful adjunct. When the heart suffers, a hot linseed-meal 
poultice or hot flannels should be frequently renewed 
over the region. During convalescence great attention 
must be paid to the joints ; they must be diligently 
worked both by the patient and the nurse, and rubbed 
with oil to prevent their becoming stiff. 

Chronic Rheumatism. — Chronic rheumatism re- 
quires similar remedies to the acute form, Bry. y Am., 
Cimic, Phyto. y Merc, and Rhus tox. being the chief. 
Persons liable to rheumatism should wear flannel and 
warm clothing generally, and avoid damp and cold. 
Warm-, salt-, vapor- or hot-air baths are useful. After 
the use of warm bathing, cold should be gradually 
tried, as it tends to prevent subsequent attacks. Turk- 
ish baths, judiciously taken, are often efficacious. Fric- 
tions with Arnica oil are beneficial in local and limited 
forms of rheumatism. Errors in diet should be guarded 
against, as attacks are very likely to follow derangement 
of the digestive organs. 

20. — Lumbago — Pains in the Loins. 

Rheumatism of the muscles of the back, on one or 
both sides of the loins the pain being increased by move- 
ment of the back. 

Tartar emetic. — Lumbago, the vertebrae feel as if they 
rubbed against each other. 

Rhus tox. — Chronic lumbago; pains worse during 
repose, and at night; and when the disease has arisen 
from getting wet. 



GOUT. 95 

Cimicifuga. — Useful in a large number of cases ; espe- 
cially when there is restlessness, with depression of 
spirits. 

Bryonia. — Intense pains, causing the patient to walk 
stooping, increased by movement or a draught of air, 
with shivering or biliousness. 

Arnica oil, rubbed into the affected parts, is often 
very useful. 

21.— Gout (Podagra). 

The ancient name of this blood disease — podagra, 
foot-pain — indicates the parts usually first affected. 

Causes. — Gout generally occurs in elderly persons 
who live luxuriously, and suffer much from heartburn, 
and other symptoms of acid dyspepsia. 

Distinctions between Gout and Rheumatism. — 1. 
Gout rarely occurs till about or after the middle period 
of life; rheumatism attacks the young. 

2. Gout chiefly affects the small joints — the metatarsal 
joint of the great toe, for instance ; rheumatism the large 
joints. 

3. Gout is often associated with chalk-stones (urate of 
soda) ; rheumatism is not. 

4. Gout is decidedly hereditary ; rheumatism is less so. 

5. Gout is not attended with profuse acid sweats; 
rheumatism is. 

6. Gout is often the punishment of the luxurious and 
indolent; rheumatism is rather the lot of the hard-work- 
ing and the exposed. 

Treatment. — Aconitum. — Fever symptoms, especially 
at the commencement, and in plethoric patients. 

Pulsatilla. — May be alternated with Aeon, from the 



\)b CONSTITUTIONAL DISEASES. 

commencement, or given alone when the joint has be- 
come attacked. 

Nux vomica. — Attacks traceable to stimulants or lux- 
urious living, with indigestion or irregular action of the 
bowels. 

Bryonia. — Gout implicating the chest, or with bilious 
symptoms ; pains increased by movement. 

Natrum sulph. — Is the remedy for chronic gout. 

Administration. — Dissolve the selected remedy in 
water and give a teaspoonful of the solution every half 
hour in acute cases ; in less acute, every two hours ; in 
chronic, twice a day. 

Accessory Means. — Flannels and application of heat 
often give relief. The affected limb should be raised. 

Preventive Treatment. — The patient should be 
well nourished, but the consumption of animal food 
diminished, and the tendency to acidity guarded against 
by avoiding indigestible, saccharine, highly-seasoned or 
greasy food, twice-cooked meat, raw vegetables, and 
stimulants. Moderate and regular exercise should be 
taken in the open air, and the sponge-bath every morn- 
ing. Perspiration should be encouraged, with care that 
it is not checked by chill. 

22. — Phthisis Pulmonalis — Scrofulous Con- 
sumption. 

In cases of phthisis (from thio, to consume) there are 
deposited in the lungs certain morbid bodies called tu- 
bercles, in which the processes of suppuration and ulcer- 
ation are set up. Although no period of life is exempt, 
phthisis is most frequent in the course of youth, espe- 
cially from the eighteenth to the twenty-second year, 



m PHTHISIS. 97 

and, of all the diseases that claim our attention, is the 
one that proves the most destructive of human life. 
When once fully developed, it is generally supposed to 
be incurable ; but in the early stages of the disease, 
while the tubercles are yet small, and but slight irrita- 
tion has been set up, our preventive and remedial 
measures may be employed with much hope of success. 

Symptoms. — The early symptoms of consumption are 
obscure, and consist chiefly of chronic hoarseness; 
cough ; shortness of breath on moderate exertion ; wan- 
dering, irregular pains, and constriction about the chest ; 
excessive sensitiveness of the lungs to cold air ; impaired 
digestion ; debility and loss of flesh without any assign- 
able cause ; haemoptysis ; flushing of the cheeks, and 
quickening of the pulse in the evening, followed by dis- 
turbed sleep and early morning perspirations. 

Spitting or coughing up of blood often takes place, 
and usually gives the first intimation of the real nature 
of the malady ; its occurrence before or soon after the 
setting in of a cough always indicates danger. As the 
disease advances, breathing becomes very distressing, 
the sputa more purulent, and exhaustion and emacia- 
tion, from impairment of the digestive functions, are 
now confirmed and progressive symptoms. From thick- 
ening or ulceration of the respiratory mucous mem- 
brane, huskiness or loss of voice is produced. Other 
organs often become implicated, especially the intestinal 
canal, in which a deposit of tubercles takes place, pro- 
ducing diarrhoea. The skin covering the parts on 
which the patient lies is apt to become sore and in- 
flamed, and even to perish from the pressure of the 
attenuated body. Apathx (little ulcers) of the mouth, 
pharynx, etc., or swelling of the feet, ankles, and even 
7 



98 CONSTITUTIONAL DISEASES. 

legs, ensue, and the long and weary struggle is at last 
terminated by the gentle approach of death. 

The 'physical signs observed by auscultation and percus- 
sion tend to remove that uncertainty which formerly 
prevailed on the subject; but as these signs can only 
be appreciated and interpreted by a medical man, they 
are not further referred to in this work. All doubtful 
cases should be early submitted to professional homoeo- 
pathic treatment. 

Causes. — Tubercular phthisis is generally hereditary; 
it may arise-in early life from an enfeebled condition of 
the system induced by a confined and impure atmos- 
phere, unhealthy or too prolonged occupations, innutri- 
tious food, anxiety, etc., to which an hereditary predis- 
position and the scrofulous constitution powerfully 
contribute. 

Tkeatment. — Where tubercles exist in the lungs, 
either in a latent or partially developed state, we 
strongly recommend the following measures : 

1st. — Highly nutritious and easily digestible food. The 
diet should be nourishing, digestible and sufficiently 
abundant, including animal food once or twice daily, or 
occasionally fish, stale home-made or brown bread, far- 
inaceous puddings, green vegetables, mealy potatoes, 
milk, lightly boiled eggs, etc. Condiments, pastry and 
all articles of food that occasion nausea, eructations, or 
other symptoms of indigestion, are to be avoided. The 
diet should include Cod-liver oil, in small quantities. 
The continued use of oil, judiciously given, controls 
the expectoration and night-sweats, soothes the cough 
and checks emaciation. 

Cod-Liver Oil. — Cod-liver oil is an agent of great 
value in the treatment of many constitutional diseases, 



PHTHISIS. 99 

especially for the one under consideration. That kind 
of oil should be chosen which the patient finds most 
easy of digestion. A teaspoonful, once or twice daily, 
taken before, after or between meals, as may prove 
most agreeable, is generally sufficient, especially at the 
commencement ; and, by slightly warming the oil, or 
taking after it a lump of sugar on which a drop of some 
essential oil has been placed, or some coffee, or orange- 
wine, etc., the unpalatableness may be in great measure 
removed. Inunction over the chest and between the 
shoulders is also generally beneficial. 

Kumyss, or fermented milk, is very beneficial and 
generally liked by the patient. It may be used alone 
to the exclusion of all other food, or can be taken at 
any time when the patient desires it. 

2d. — Daily exercise in the open air, employed in such a 
manner as to bring all the muscles — especially those of 
the chest and upper extremities — into moderate and 
agreeable action, and with the body in an erect posture, 
as in walking. Riding on horseback is also favorable, 
as affording a large amount of fresh air, the exercise 
not exciting great difficulty of breathing. In unfavor- 
able weather, some of the well-contrived apparatus for 
arm and back exercise, especially that of the cross-bar, 
should be used in the house, with open windows. 

3rd. — Bathing, followed by vigorous friction, by 
means of a bath-sheet, is an important measure, and, ex- 
cept in confirmed consumption, is generally beneficial. 
The water may be applied in the form of baths, spong- 
ing or wet-sheets, and may even include sea-bathing. 
Weak children or delicate patients may use tepid water, 
and gradually reduce the temperature. When admis- 
sible, the best plan is rapidly to plunge a child in water, 



100 CONSTITUTIONAL DISEASES. 

which obviates the exposure consequent on sponging, 
and insures a quick and complete reaction. A healthy 
action of the skin will thus be promoted, and the gene- 
ral circulation equalized. But cold bathing is injurious 
when the surface is rendered cold and pale, and the patient 
is left languid and dejected. In such a case, warm salt 
baths should be first used. In consumptive cases, spong- 
ing the patient every morning with one part of vinegar 
to six parts of hot water is most agreeable as well as 
refreshing. 

4th. — Residence in a moderately warm climate. Warm 
air soothes the trachea and bronchial tubes, and the ex- 
ternal warmth tends to keep the blood to the surface of 
the body, and so obviates congestion of the lungs ; and, 
further, the warm air being rarefied, less oxygen is in- 
spired, and less carbonic acid given off, so that less vig- 
orous breathing is required; and, also, the liver, in the 
warmer climates, seems to take on some of the offices 
of the lungs. The climate, however, must be dry, as 
damp is prejudicial. The writer is strongly convinced 
that entire change of climate, if adopted before the dis- 
ease has produced irreparable changes in the lungs, is 
the most effective and permanent remedy. The climate 
of many parts of California, Arizona, Florida, Victoria 
in Australia, is probably the best to which a patient of 
consumptive tendency can be sent ; but never send any 
patient away from home and relatives in the last stages 
of the disease. It is simply cruelty. 

5th.— Lastly, all excesses are to be avoided, whether 
in the pleasures of the table, wine or liquors, business, 
intellectual pursuits, or in the gratification of any pas- 
sion which overstimulates and fatigues the mind or 
body. 



PHTHISIS. 101 

By the early and persevering adoption of these sug- 
gestions, and the administration of homoeopathic reme- 
dies, much might be done toward the prevention of 
consumption, as well as for the restoration to compara- 
tive health of tuberculous persons. 

We have often administered our remedies with 
marked and permanent benefit to consumptive patients 
but the treatment should always be conducted by a 
physician. Experience in the treatment of a large 
number of private and dispensary patients enables us 
to encourage hope even in grave and complicated cases. 
In the early stages of the disease, a cure can often be 
effected; even when considerably advanced, life may 
be prolonged for many years ; and in the last stages of 
the disease, the patient's sufferings may be mitigated to 
a marked degree. 

Among the articles of diet may be mentioned the 
various extracts of malt and maltine and especially 
kumyss. Cod-liver oil is also of great importance where 
it is well tolerated. It should be taken two or three 
times a day immediately after food. When it is not tol- 
erated Iodine given homceopathically will sometimes do 
more than the cod-liver oil, which contains iodine. Also 
suet and milk may be taken as a substitute. It is made 
by simmering an ounce of finely chopped mutton suet 
in a pint and a half of milk, until the whole is reduced 
to one pint. Skim carefully and strain. It should be 
taken warm, and makes an excellent supper. 

Medicinal Treatment. — This will always be directed 
by a homoeopathic physician when possible. Among the 
most useful remedies are : 

Calcareaphos., especially for incipient cases. Debility, 
cough, hoarseness, night-sweat and diarrhoea are all 



102 DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

benefited by it. May be given in powder, size of pea, 
three times a day in warm milk. 

Phosphorus. — Irritative cough, with expectoration of 
mucus streaked with blood. 

Ferrum phos. — Breathing short, oppressed and hurried, 
accompanied by heat and feverishness. 

(See also " Cough," " Hemorrhages" and " Clinical 
Index.") 



CHAPTER III. 
DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

Nervous diseases have considerably increased of late 
years throughout the civilized world. Undoubtedly 
this is due to our modern ways of living ; the result 
of the overtaxed energies and feverish excitement in 
which great numbers live, and the large amount of 
stimulants taken to sustain that excitement. It is not 
overwork that kills, but worry. What is most needed 
in the prevention and treatment of nervous troubles is 
true temperance in all things ; a less selfish and anxious 
pursuit of wealth ; daily exercise and recreation in the 
open air; simple food, well prepared, and a release once 
in a while from the hurry and bustle of daily business 
life. 

Looking to higher and more important things than 
mere money-making will tend to be an effectual anti- 
dote to many causes of nervous diseases. 

23. — Epilepsy (Falling Sickness). 

Symptoms. — Epilepsy means literally a seizure; for 
often in a moment the patient falls to the ground with 



EPILEPSY. 103 

sudden and complete loss of consciousness, struggling 
and foaming; the eyes roll spasmodically, the teeth 
are clenched, the tongue is often bitten, the breathing 
is labored, and the face purplish and swollen. Some- 
times a fit is preceded by depression of spirits, a 
gloomy mood, drowsiness, or the aura epileptica, a 
peculiar sensation, compared to a stream of warm or 
cold air, the trickling of water, or the creeping of an 
insect. It is followed by deep sleep, from which the 
patient awakes with headache and sense of weariness. 

Causes.— Hereditary tendency ; injuries or malforma- 
tion of the head ; local irritation ; derangement of the 
nervous or sexual system ; self-abuse ; fright, or fits of 
rage; the irritation of worms; the sight of other epi- 
leptics, etc. The evidence of hereditary tendency 
exists in the fact that two or more cases of epilepsy 
frequently occur in the same family, far more frequently 
than it w r ould do if it were a mere coincidence. Still, 
evidence of a local irritation as a cause should be 
sought after, so that it may, if possible, be removed. 

Treatment during a Fit. — Tight articles of clothing 
must be loosened, particular care being taken that there 
shall be no pressure on the vessels of the neck; the 
patient should be placed in a cool, airy place ; the head 
and trunk slightly raised ; a cork or linen pad placed 
between the teeth to prevent the tongue, which should 
be pushed back, from being bitten; and the patient 
withheld as much as possible from injuring himself, 
without restraining him beyond what is absolutely nec- 
essary. Dashing the face with cold water and the appli- 
cation of smelling-salts to the nose are of no advantage ; 
the fit had better take its course. After it is over, the 
patient should be allowed to sleep. 



104 DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

Treatment between Fits. — Belladonna. — Great irrita- 
bility of the nervous system, the patient starting at the 
least noise ; convulsive movement of the muscles of the 
mouth, face and limbs ; dilated pupils, fixed or con- 
vulsed eyes, intolerance of light; stammering; con- 
gestion of blood to the head ; and when an attack 
commences with a sensation of crawling in the upper 
extremities. 

Ignatia. — Nervous, sensitive patients; when anxiety or 
grief has been an exciting cause, and there are deep 
sighs between or before attacks. 

Nux vomica. — Indigestion; irregular action of the 
bowels; great irritability between the fits; and the 
patient takes too little open air exercise. 

Opium. — Fits traceable to fright ; deep, lethargic sleep 
between the paroxysms ; fullness of blood. 

Chamomilla. — From gastric derangements in children ; 
an attack is preceded by colicky pains, and followed 
by stretching of the limbs, clenching of the thumbs, 
sour vomitings, paleness of one cheek and redness of 
the other. 

Cina. — From the irritation of worms. 

Sulphur. — Epilepsy following a suppressed eruption 
or discharge; chronic cases; also as an intercurrent 
remedy. 

Administration. — For the premonitory symptoms, a 
dose every one, two, or three hours ; during the inter- 
vals, twice daily. 

Accessory Means. — Regular exercise and amuse- 
ments, but not carried to the point of fatigue. Many 
attacks are brought on by errors in diet ; hence plain, 
nourishing food, in moderate quantities ; cold ablutions 
every morning. Patients with a tendency to plethora 



INFANTILE CONVULSIONS. 105 

or congestion should wholly abstain from stimulants. 
Bodily and mental fatigue, violent emotions, excesses 
of every kind, more especially sexual, must be strictly 
avoided. 

24. — Infantile Convulsions. 

Symptoms. — Unconsciousness, rolling of the eyes, 
grinding of the teeth, clenched hands, contortions or 
stiffness of the body and limbs; sometimes the face 
is purplish, and the breathing labored. The attacks 
terminate with trembling, chillness, paleness of the 
face, and evacuation of the bladder and bowels, etc. 

Causes. — Errors in diet ; unwholesome and indigest- 
ible food; irritation of the brain from pressure of a 
tooth upon an inflamed gum, or anything which over- 
excites the nervous system ; disease of the brain ; an 
insufficient supply of blood to the brain, as in badly-fed 
children, or an impure supply of blood, as in the 
eruptive fevers; the irritation of worms ; fright ; in 
suckling infants, powerful emotions of the mother. The 
remote causes are hereditary predisposition, etc. 

Treatment. — The clothing about the neck, chest and 
body should be loosened, the head raised, the face 
sprinkled with water, and plenty of fresh air admitted. 
A w T arm bath for about ten minutes, maintained at 98° 
by additions of hot water, is generally advisable; at 
the same time cold water should be gently poured on 
the head for one or two minutes, or a towel squeezed 
out of cold water applied to the head ; the child should 
be quickly dried and wrapped in warm flannel or 
blanket; then put to bed. A medical man should be 
summoned if possible. 

Belladonna. — Convulsions with determination of blood 



106 DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

to, or inflammation of, the brain ; hot or flushed face ; 
dilated pupils, ete. Bell, is especially useful in stout 
children, and should be given early, and repeated every 
five minutes for several times ; a drop of the tincture 
in a teaspoonful of water, or a few pellets on the tongue. 
Magnesia phos. may be given after a few doses of Bella- 
donna, and generally suffices for all ordinary convulsive 
attacks. 

Chamomilla. — Spasmodic twitching of the eyelids and 
muscles of the face, one cheek red and the other pale ; 
clenched thumbs. It is most suitable for irritable 
children, and in fits from disorders of the digestive 
functions. 

Opium. — Convulsions from fright, followed by stupor, 
labored breathing, confined bowels. 

Aconitum. — Fever — restlessness, flushed face — and 
when convulsions are threatened. 

Accessory Treatment. — Diarrhoea during dentition, 
unless excessive, should not be interfered with. It may 
be regarded as an effort of nature to relieve congestion 
of the brain. " Keeping the head cool and the feet 
warm," washing the patient in cold water daily, and 
allowing him to be much in the open air tend to pre- 
vent determination to the head. Purgatives are to be 
avoided, and the bowels regulated by suitable diet or by 
homoeopathic treatment. Costiveness in infancy is due 
to errors in diet ; if obstinate, or if worms be present, 
injections of water may be used. The mother or nurse 
should abstain from all indigestible food. 



SPASMODIC CROUP. 107 

25. — Spasmodic Croup — Child-Crowing {Laryn- 
gismus Stridulus). 

This affection is distinct from croup proper, described 
further on, for it is a purely nervous disease, inducing 
spasm of the glottis. It occurs at the youngest age, before 
the end of the first dentition. 

Symptoms. — It comes on suddenly, usually at night, 
with a spasm of the muscles of the throat, so that the child 
struggles to get his breath, with a choking noise, and 
becomes livid in the lips. It generally occurs during 
dentition or from irritation of the stomach and bowels, 
occasioned by improper food or worms. Under proper 
treatment, the attack usually soon passes off, but some- 
times it is premonitory of disease of the brain. It is 
distinguished from true croup by the absence of barking 
cough, feverishness, anxiety of countenance .and distress 
between the attacks. 

Treatment. — Aconitum, in alternation with Spongia, 
should be given every few minutes till improvement 
ensues. 

Gelsemium is an excellent remedy when the above do 
not meet the case. 

Administration. — The remedy may be given in drop- 
doses in half a teaspoonful of water every ten minutes 
for three or four times. After the attack is passed, the 
medicine should be given three or four times a day, for 
two or three days, to prevent subsequent attacks. 

Accessory Means. — Fomentation to the throat, by 
means of a sponge wrung out of hot water ; the warm 
bath and the removal of any known exciting cause. 



108 DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

26. — Headache. 

Headache may be merely an incidental symptom of 
a general disease, such as indigestion, common cold, 
deranged menstruation, congestion or inflammation of 
the brain, etc., or it may be a more or less local affec- 
tion, resulting from some irritation of the cerebral 
nerves. The treatment of chronic headache should be 
regulated according to its cause, and be under the care 
of a homoeopathic physician. Headache from conges- 
tion or inflammation especially requires professional 
treatment. 

Treatment. — Belladonna. — Throbbing pains, shooting 
from one point to another ; fullness, pressure and heavi- 
ness above the eyes, aggravated by noise, light or mental 
efforts ; congestion to the head, with redness of the face, 
glistening of the eyes and excessive sensitiveness. A 
dose every hour until relieved ; afterward less fre- 
quently. Bell is often useful after, or alternately with, 
Aeon. 

Aconitum. — Heat in the head from excitement, and 
aggravated by motion, with a sense of coldness in the 
rest of the body ; sensation as of a tight band round the 
head ; pain accompanied by swelling ; cold water to the 
head gives relief. Much feverishness, restlessness and 
anxiety call for it. 

Iris. — Sick-headache, with much vomiting of bile, 
pain in the forehead and right side of head, aggravated 
by movement. 

Nux vomica. — Headache from intoxicating drinks, 
sedentary habits, too close attention to business ; stupe- 
fying headache with giddiness and heaviness in the 
morning after unrefreshing sleep, or after meals, with 



HEADACHE. 109 

other symptoms of indigestion. It is well indicatad 
by a dark, bilious complexion, irritable disposition, and 
irregular action of the bowels. 

Pulsatilla. — From rich food, with acidity, heaviness 
of the head, pain on one side of it, shooting into the 
ears, paleness, fretfulness, and shiverings. Also in 
women from suppressed period. 

Bryonia. — From cold, most troublesome in the morn- 
ing, or after a meal ; digging or tearing pains, and a 
feeling as if the contents of the head would protrude 
on stooping. Rheumatic headache ; headache during hot 
weather ; also with bleeding of the nose, or torpor of 
the bowels. 

Ferritin phos. — Headaches of children. Throbbing 
pain, red face, pain worse stooping or moving. 

Kali phos. — Xervous headache, hysterical mood, very 
sensitive. Headache of students. Gone feeling in 
stomach. 

Nabrum mur. — Chronic and sick-headaches ; men- 
strual headache ; for school-girls who apply themselves 
too closely ; with constipation. 

Preventive Treatment. — -An attack of headache 
may sometimes be warded off by a dose or two of Nuz 
vomica (if from indigestion), or of Aconitum (if from 
catarrh), if taken immediately the first symptoms are 
observed. 

Accessory Means. — The hands and feet should be 
plunged in hot water for ten minutes ; the temples 
bathed with vinegar and spirits of wine in equal parts ; 
food should be abstained from for a time to give the 
stomach rest and quiet the nerves, if the headache be 
brought on by dietetic errors ; simple nourishing food 
should be taken frequently, if the headache be nervous. 



110 DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

General Treatment. — The cause should, if possible, 
be ascertained and removed. In cases of difficulty, an 
observant physician can generally detect the cause, and 
almost as often point out the cure. Highly stimulat- 
ing food and drink, especially spirits, strong tea and 
coffee, should be avoided ; there should also be regular- 
ity of meals, adaptation of clothing to the changes of 
the seasons, a healthy action of the bowels, and a suffi- 
cient amount of daily open-air recreation. 

27. — Sick-Headache. 

This, the headache of indigestion, is often errone- 
ously called bilious headache. 

Symptoms. — Giddiness, dizziness, swimming in the 
head, sickness, etc. The headache is stupefying or 
agonizing, generally commences in the morning, and is 
often confined to one spot on the side of the head, on 
the forehead or over the eye. 

Causes. — Errors of diet ; indulgence in wine ; seden- 
tary habits ; or may occur in a person whose digestion 
has been previously impaired without any immediate 
dietetic infraction. 

Treatment. — See the preceding section, and also 
that on " Indigestion." 

The chief remedies are Nux and Iris. Take a dose of 
each in alternation every half hour ; w T hen better, not 
so often. After the acute attack it is advisable to take 
the remedy corresponding to the general state of the 
patient every night on going to bed. Very often, one 
of the Tissue Remedies will be found to be needed for 
the radical cure of the disorder. Among these consult 
Calcarea phos., Natrum mur., Ferrum phos. and Kali phos. 



INFLAMMATION OF THE EYES. Ill 

CHAPTER IV. 
DISEASES OF THE EYES, EARS AND NOSE. 



28. — Inflammation of the Eyes (Ophthalmia). 

Ophthalmia is a general term for inflammation of 
the mucous membrane which lines the eyelids and the 
front part of the eyeball. There are several varieties, 
such as catarrhal ophthalmia, from cold ; strumous oph- 
thalmia, from a scrofulous habit, marked by an extreme 
intolerance of light, etc. 

Symptoms. — Soreness in the ball of the eye, sensation 
as of sand under the lids, redness of the eyes, with 
swelling of the vessels, itching and shooting pains, pus- 
tules and scales on the lids ; the pains increase in the 
evening and on exposure to cold, and there is aggluti- 
nation in the morning. 

Treatment. — Aconite. — Acute inflammation of the 
eyes of any kind, especially after injuries or operations. 

Arnica. — Inflammation from external injuries. It may 
be used both internally and externally. 

Belladonna. — Pain, redness and swelling ; throbbing in 
the temples ; flushed cheeks, glistening eyes and intoler- 
ance of light. 

Calcarea carb. — Chronic ophthalmia in scrofulous de- 
bilitated children ; secretion of mucus, causing the lids 
to stick together in the morning. 

Hepar sulph. — Chronic scrofulous ophthalmia, espe- 
cially if much Calomel has been administered. It is 
generally most beneficial after the acute symptoms have 
yielded to such remedies as Aeon, and Bell. 

Sulphur. — Frequent relapses in scrofulous persons ; or 



112 DISEASES OF THE EYES. 

it may follow other remedies after the more urgent 
symptoms have subsided. 

Accessory Measures. — If inflammation has been 
caused by sand, dust, lime, flies or hairs of the lids, 
the irritating body should be immediately removed; 
and if the inflammation be considerable, a shade should 
be worn. Strong light, wind, and cold air should be 
avoided. To prevent the eyelids from being cemented 
together in the morning the margins of the lids should 
be gently smeared with a little olive oil by means of a 
camel's hair brush, or with simple cerate, or vaseline, 
at bedtime. Except the Calendula lotion, the only further 
local application admissible in domestic practice is a 
piece of lint wetted with tepid or cold water. Patients 
in crowded and unhealthy towns should remove for a 
time to the country, where they can take daily out-of- 
door exercise in a pure and bracing air. The food 
should be plain and nourishing, the habits early and 
regular, and frequent bathing should be practiced. 
Chronic, especially strumous ophthalmia requires Cod- 
liver oil Persons predisposed to ophthalmia should 
guard against exposures to the wind. 

29. — Stye on the Eyelids {Hordeolum). 

The stye is a little boil projecting from the margin 
of the eyelids, causing pain till relieved by the escape 
of matter. 

Treatment. — Pulsatilla is the chief remedy and the 
the first to be used, unless considerable inflammation 
exists, when it may be preceded by one or two doses of 
Aeon. But Puis, will not prevent a tendency to its re- 
turn. For this purpose we give 

Silicea. — Patients predisposed to styes. 



INFLAMMATION OF THE EARS. 113 

Administration. — In acute cases, every three hours ; 
in chronic cases, morning and night. 

Auxiliary Treatment. — Fomentations of tepid 
water; if pus forms, a bread-and- water poultice at 
night. The eyes should rest, and be protected from a 
strong light, especially from gaslight. 

30.— Inflammation of the Ears (Otitis) — Earache 
(Otalgia). 

Symptoms. — Sudden pain, sometimes so acute as to 
cause delirium ; tenderness and soreness ; unnatural 
noises ; deafness or morbid sensibility to sound ; more 
or less redness and swelling of the ear-passage ; flush- 
ing of the face on the affected side. 

Causes. — Cold currents; imperfectly drying the ear 
after washing; injudicious bathing; probing or syring- 
ing an inflamed ear. Inflammatory affections of the 
ear frequently follow the eruptive fevers in strumous 
children. 

Treatment. — Aconitum. — Recent inflammation from 
cold. 

Belladonna. — Tearing pains in the head, with ten- 
dency to delirium. 

Pulsatilla. — Sticking or tearing pains in and behind 
the ear, swelling and a feeling as if the ear were closed. 
It is specially suited to the earache of children, and after 
the inflammatory symptoms have been controlled by 
the former remedies. 

Chamornilla. — Earache from cold or suppressed perspi- 
ration; stabbing, tearing pains in the ears; extreme 
sensitiveness and irritability. 

Mercurius. — Pains in the ear extending to the cheeks 
and teeth ; discharge ; swelling of the glands, etc. 
8 



114 DISEASES OF THE EARS. 

Sulphur. — After the use of other remedies, as an in- 
termediate one, or to complete the cure. 

Dose and Administration. — See p. 53. 

Accessory Means. — Hot fomentations, poultices, or 
the steam of hot water, to mitigate the pain. Cotton 
wool should be put in the ear for a short time after- 
ward to avert cold. 

31. — Discharge from the Ears (Otorrhea). 

This disease is commonly met with in scrofulous 
children, and, if not soon amenable to the remedies, 
should be treated professionally. 

Treatment. — Mercurius. — Thick, bloody or fetid dis- 
charge; tearing pains in the side of the head or face; 
snivelling and tenderness of the glands about the ear ; also 
when the complaint follows scarlatina, measles, small- 
pox, etc. A dose thrice daily. 

Hepar sulph. is preferable if the patient has been 
dosed with Mercury. 

Pulsatilla. — Simple discharge from the ear, with deaf- 
ness, in non-scrofulous children. 

Calcarea phos. — Tedious cases in strumous children. 

Kali mur. may be given after Mercurius or Pulsatilla, 
a dose morning and evening, for one week. 

Accessory Measures. — Change of air is often neces- 
sary ; county air, in a dry, salubrious district; or, in the 
autumnal months, sea air is generally of marked utility. 
Cod-liver ml is also strongly recommended. 

32.— Deafness (Surditas). 
Causes. — Deafness is generally a symptom of some 
other disorder, such as inflammation of the ears, severe 
cold 5 glandular enlargement or chronic disease of the 



BLEEDING FROM THE NOSE. 115 

ear. It may also be occasioned by loud noises or by 
the accumulation of ear-wax or other substances lodged 
in the ear-passage. 

Treatment. — Deafness of recent date may generally 
be quickly cured by skillful homoeopathic treatment; 
long-standing cases are often obstinate. 

Pulsatilla. — Recent deafness from cold, with noises in 
the ears. 

Mercurius. — Catarrhal deafness, with swollen glands of 
the neck and throat; suddenly suppressed discharge 
from the nose and ears ; roaring and buzzing sounds in 
the head. Also deafness after smallpox. 

Phosphorus. — Deafness of nervous patients, or following 
any nervous disorder. 

Administration. — In recent cases, a dose every four 
hours ; in chronic, twice daily. 

Accessory Means. — Hard ear-wax, or any foreign 
substance, causing deafness, should be early removed 
by skillful hands, after first gently syringing the ear with 
warm water. All nostrums, to be dropped into the ear, 
should be eschewed. Mullein oil may be dropped on a 
little cotton and inserted at bedtime. 

Ferrum phos. and Kali mur. may be given when no 
other remedies seem to be indicated. They will benefit 
a large proportion of cases of catarrhal deafness. Take 
a powder morning and evening, alternating every week. 

33. — Bleeding from the Nose (Epistaxis). 
Bleeding from the nose is of frequent occurrence in 
children, a fit of sneezing or coughing, a slight blow, 
severe exercise or even the heat of summer often serv- 
ing as the exciting cause. Bleeding from the nose also 
occurs in the course of many diseases, or at their termi- 



116 DISEASES OF THE NOSE. 

nation, and often affords considerable relief. It should 
not be interfered with unless it is excessive, recurs too 
frequently, or takes place under a weak state of the sys- 
tem. When it arises from injuries, or in patients 
already reduced by disease, and is excessive, remedies 
are necessary. 

Causes. — Undue fullness of the bloodvessels of the 
head ; local disease of the nostrils, or a constitutional 
hemorrhagic diathesis. In men it frequently succeeds 
suppression of hemorrhoidal discharge, and in young 
women it may be vicarious of the menstrual function. 
Under peculiar conditions of the constitution, epistaxis 
often occurs periodically in some adult persons, and 
then its cessation, without judicious treatment, may be- 
come a source of danger. 

Treatment. — Aconitum. — Bleeding after being over- 
heated, or in plethoric persons, with fever, strong pulsa- 
tions of the arteries of the temples and neck, and full, 
hurried pulse. A dose every fifteen or twenty minutes 
during the bleeding. 

Belladonna. — With flushed face and congestion to the 
head. 

Bryonia. — Coming on every morning. 

Arnica. — Hemorrhage from violence — a blow, fall or 
excessive bodily exertion — preceded by heat and itch- 
ing of the nose. 

Pulsatilla. — In females, from suppressed or scanty 
monthly discharge. (See also Bryonia.) 

China. — If the loss of blood has been such as to 
weaken the patient, producing paleness, fainting, etc., a 
dose three or four times daily for a week or ten days. At 
the same time the food should be nourishing and taken 
at regular hours, avoiding, of course, overrepletion. 



BLEEDING FROM THE NOSE. 117 

Ferrum phos. may be given morning and evening for 
a week after an attack, should the patient be subject to 
them. It will prevent their recurrence. 

Accessory Measures. — So long as the hemorrhage 
continues, the patient should be kept standing, as that 
posture favors fainting, which is often nature's mode of 
cure. If the hemorrhage has caused debility, a nour- 
ishing but digestible diet is necessary. 

Cold is a most successful means of arresting hemor- 
rhage ; it may be applied to the nose or forehead by a 
handkerchief wetted in cold water, or by ice, or by the 
sudden application of cold water to the neck or back, 
or by placing a cold key or any other iron instrument 
to the spine. In these latter instances the influence of 
cold is not restricted to the part to which it is immedi- 
ately applied ; the bleeding is arrested by the sympa- 
thetic constriction of the bloodvessels which it pro- 
duces in remote parts. In most cases, however, the 
simple plan of causing the patient to raise his arms 
above his head, and holding them so for a little time, 
promptly arrests hemorrhage. 

All stimulating food and drink must be withheld, 
and every circumstance likely to quicken the circulation 
avoided. 

Plethoric patients, predisposed to this complaint or 
to congestions, should lead a temperate life, avoid stim- 
ulants, use frequent ablutions of cold water, and take 
moderate exercise daily in the open air, avoiding, at the 
same time, sudden changes of temperature. Immoder- 
ate exertion, fatigue and much stooping are injurious. 



118 DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 

CHAPTER V. 
DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 



34. — Croup (Angina Trachealis). 

Croup proper is inflammation of the mucous membrane 
of the larynx and trachea, with swelling from effusion into 
their tissue. There is probably no real membranous 
formation, as in diphtheria, but only a secretion of 
tenacious mucus. Croup is a serious and dangerous 
disease, as death may occur suddenly from convul- 
sions, spasm of the glottis, exhaustion, the formation 
of a coagulum in the heart, or from the excessive 
swelling of the lining of the windpipe, by which the 
patient is choked. The disease should be placed under 
the care of a professional Homoeopath as quickly as 
possible. 

Symptoms. — It begins as a catarrh, with a peculiar 
barking cough; and afterward, usually at night, the 
symptoms become aggravated, with paroxysms of 
dyspnoea, rapid breathing, quick, wiry pulse, thirst, 
hoarse voice, loud brazen cough, and great distress, the 
child throwing its head back to put the windpipe on the 
stretch. The metallic ringing sound, heard in the 
inspiration and cough, has been compared to the crow- 
ing of a young cock, or to the barking of a puppy. 
The disease is often fatal in from two to four days. 

True croup is less frequent than spasmodic croup (p. 
107), and generally occurs in the period between the 
first dentition and puberty. Remember that the more 
sudden and violent the attack, the less danger of its 
being true croup. It is most likely only spasmodic 



CROUP. 119 

croup, and the child will get oyer the attack in the 
course of an hour or two, although likely to have 
another attack the next night. But should the attack 
come on gradually and insidiously, and the child 
remain markedly hoarse, and show fever during the 
day, you must be on your guard, and obtain the advice 
of a physician. 

Causes. — Damp and unhealthy situations ; sudden 
changes of temperature ; wet feet ; poor or scanty food 
or clothing ; previous illness, etc. One attack "oredis- 
poses to another. 

Treatment. — Aconitum. — Great heat, thirst, short dry 
cough, and difficult breathing. Aconite is often of price- 
less value in the early stage of the disease ; if indicated, 
it may be given in alternation w T ith one of the following 
remedies : 

Spongia. — If Aconite produce perspiration ; but if the 
difficult breathing continue, Spongia should be substi- 
tuted, particularly if the breathing be labored, loud and 
wheezing, and the cough hoarse, hollow, barking or whist- 
ling, and worse toward evening, the patient looking 
anxious, pale, and as if he would be suffocated. 

Hepar sulph. — Loose cough, having the ringing or 
brassy sound peculiar to croup, with a constant rattling 
in the chest, during which the patient tries in vain to 
get relief by expectoration. 

Tartar emetic. — Loose, rattling cough, difficult respi- 
ration ; patient is drowsy and sweaty. The homoeo- 
pathic cough and croup syrup is a preparation of Tartar 
emetic. It is an excellent thing to have on hand for 
emergencies. When children wake suddenly at night 
and begin with a hoarse, barking cough and difficult 
breathing, a few doses in rapid succession will generally 
suffice. 



120 DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 

Phosphorus and Carbo veg. are useful in removing the 
hoarseness and cough which often remain after an 
attack of croup. 

Administration. — In severe cases, every fifteen or 
thirty minutes ; in mild, or during convalescence, every 
four or six hours. 

Accessory Means. — A warm bath, and hot water 
applications to the throat, are highly advantageous. 
The feet should be kept warm, there should be no 
strings or tight articles round the neck, and everything 
avoided that would be likely to excite or irritate the 
patient. During an attack, as a beverage, water only is 
admissible. In convalescence, milk-and-water, arrow- 
root, gruels, extract of meat, and, gradually, more sub- 
stantial food. A change of air, especially to a dry, 
healthy soil, hastens complete recovery. 

35. — Cold in the Head — Catarrh (Coryzd). 

This is a very common complaint, and often the pre- 
cursor of serious and fatal diseases. It is the cause of 
half our diseases. It consists of inflammation of the 
mucous membrane of the air-passages of the nose, 
throat, etc. 

Symptoms. — It usually comes on with slight shiver- 
ings, pain and a feeling of weight in the head, redness 
of the eyes, obstruction of one or both nostrils, accom- 
panied with a discharge of thin colorless, acrid mucus. 
These symptoms are soon followed by sore throat, 
hoarspr^ess, sneezing, dry cough, chilliness, general 
weakness, more or less fever, quick pulse, and loss of 
appetite. 

Causes. — Exposure to wet, cold winds, draughts, 
changes of temperature, insufficient plothing, and 



COLD IN THE HEAD. 121 

especially deficient warmth when the body is cooling after 
having been heated. A weak condition, an empty- 
stomach and a disordered stomach are predisposing 
causes. 

Treatment. — Aconitum. — This is a remedy of great 
power, and undoubtedly surpasses every other in effi- 
cacy at the beginning of a cold, or in the precursory 
6tages of all diseases resulting from a cold. If appro- 
priately and early administered, it will generally re- 
move all the morbid symptoms consequent on cold, 
and so obviate the necessity for any other medicine ; a 
dose every second or third hour. If the cold has re- 
sulted in any of the diseases so often following it, Aeon. 
may be alternated with, or substituted by, one of the 
annexed, or some other remedy, according to the direc- 
tions given in other parts of this Manual. 

Camphor. — This remedy is only suited to the chill or 
cold stage, when its prompt administration in two-drop 
doses, every half hour or hour, repeated several times, 
will often terminate the disease in the first stage. It 
should be chosen in preference to Aeon, during the 
chill stage, and especially if the patient has still to be 
exposed to changes of temperature. 

Arsenicum. — Coryza, with copious, watery, acrid dis- 
charge, and soreness of the surrounding parts, with great 
lassitude ; especially for weak and wheezing patients. 

Mercurius. — Running cold, with sneezing, soreness of 
the nose, thick discharge, profuse perspiration ; sensitive- 
ness to cold; and aggravation of symptoms toward 
evening. 

Nux vomica. — Sense of weight and pressure in the fore- 
head; discharge during the day, and stoppage at night ; 
"stuffy cold." 



122 DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 

Pulsatilla.— In females or children, with loss of appe- 
tite; diminished or perverted taste and smell ; much thick 
yellow or green discharge from the nose ; heaviness and 
confusion in the head, worse in the evening, or in a 
warm room. 

Accessory Measures. — Copious draughts of cold 
water, and abstinence from solid food, when there is 
much feverishness. The hot foot-bath (p. 60) may be 
used before retiring to rest. 

Prevention. — Persons liable to cold on slight expos- 
ures should take a cold sponge-, shower-, or plunge- 
bath, daily, at all seasons of the year. Delicate persons 
may begin by using tepid water for a few days, grad- 
ually lowering the temperature till the natural coldness 
is reached. Except for constitutionally delicate persons, 
the writer strongly deprecates the habit of washing in 
warm water. Proper clothing, regulated by the season, 
is of great importance for all, especially for children 
and young girls. The feet should be kept dry and warm. 
Warmth may generally be secured by free out-of-door 
exercise, sharp walking, the use of the skipping-rope, 
etc. The hardening process of out-of-door exercise in 
warm clothing which protects the chest and abdomen, 
should be gradual. Catarrhal, wheezing patients, going 
out on a cold day, or passing from a warm to a cold 
room, should keep the mouth shut, by breathing through 
the nose. Cold cream applied to the nostrils will give 
relief in dry, cold, windy weather. 

Chronic Catarrh. 

Calcareaphos. — An excellent remedy to begin the treat- 
ment of chronic catarrh and to use it as an intercurrent 
remedy after others have acted for some time. It has a 



HOARSENESS. 123 

decidedly tonic action. Give a dose morning and 
evening. 

Kali bich. — Chronic catarrh, with hoarseness, tough 
stringy sputa, chronically inflamed or ulcerated throat, 
cough, etc. An additional indication is a concurrent 
affection of the digestive mucous membrane. 

Sulphur, — Chronic catarrh, with free discharge. 

36. — Hoarseness. 

Hoarseness is a frequent accompaniment of a common 
cold, croup, consumption and other diseases ; it may 
also follow the excessive use of the voice, as in reading, 
speaking or singing. 

Treatment. — Aconitum. — Dryness, roughness, and 
sensation of fullness in the throat, with feverishness. 

Belladonna. — Hoarseness, with sense of constriction and 
rawness of the throat. 

Phytolacca. — Catarrhal roughness, dryness, or inflam- 
mation of the throat, with hoarseness. 

Ferritin phos. — Hoarseness in those who use the voice 
much, singers, etc. 

Dulcamara. — Hoarseness from damp or wet 

Arnica.— From excessive use of the voice. It may also 
be used as a gargle (five drops of the strong tincture to 
a wine-glass of cold water). 

Hepar sulph. — Weak and hoarse voice; wheezing 
breathing. It is indicated in old standing cases, and 
when Mercury has been largely taken. 

Carbo veg. — Obstinate chronic hoarseness, worse in 
damp weather, after talking, and in the evening, and 
for patients who have been dosed with Mercury. 

Phosphorus. — Dryness and soreness of the throat and 
chest, especially in the chronic form of the affection, 
and for patients having a consumptive tendency. 



124 DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 

37. — Bronchitis (Cold on the Chest). 

Bronchitis — inflammation of the mucous lining of 
the bronchial tubes — is a diffused disease, extending 
more or less through both lungs, and differs from cold 
or catarrh, which only affects the lining membrane of 
the nose and throat. When the upper portion of the 
chest is chiefly affected, patients often describe it as a 
" cold in the chest." It most frequently occurs in old per- 
sons, although it sometimes affects children. 

Symptoms. — Acute bronchitis begins with febrile 
symptoms — headache, lassitude, and anxiety — these 
are soon attended with a feeling of tightness or con- 
striction of the chest, especially the front portion ; op- 
pressed, hurried, anxious breathing, with wheezing or 
whistling sounds ; severe cough, at first dry, then with 
viscid and frothy expectoration, and sometimes streaked 
with blood, subsequently becoming thick, yellowish 
and purulent. The pulse is frequent, often weak ; the 
urine scanty and high-colored; the tongue foul; there 
are throbbing pains in the forehead, and aching pains 
in the eyes, aggravated by the cough, with other 
symptoms of fever. The usual cause of death in bron- 
chitis is the complete obstruction of the bronchial tubes 
with an adhesive mucus resembling that expectorated 
during life. The unfavorable symptoms are cold per- 
spirations covering the skin ; pale and livid cheeks and 
lips ; dry, brown tongue ; scanty urine ; cold extrem- 
ities ; extreme prostration ; rattling, and a sense of suffo- 
cation in the throat ; and complete insensibility, ending 
in death. In favorable cases, however, the disease 
begins to decline between the fourth and eighth day, 
and under good treatment and management soon disap- 
pears ; otherwise it is apt to assume the chronic form. 



BRONCHITIS. 125 

Causes. — Exposure to cold draughts of air, to keen 
and cutting winds, or sudden changes of temperature ; 
insufficient clothing ; inhalations of dust or other irri- 
tative substances. Bronchitis also arises during the 
course of other diseases. 

Treatment. — Aconitum. — A rapid and full pulse, hot 
skin, frontal headache, palpitation of the heart, dizzi- 
ness, constipation, and other febrile symptoms. A dose 
every one or two hours till improvement takes place. 

Ferrum phos. — May be alternated with or follow 
Aconite, especially in the chest affections of children. 
Breathing is short, oppressed and hurried, and there is 
cough, generally dry. 

Kali bich. — This remedy has great power in bron- 
chitis, especially when chronic, with accumulations of 
tenacious, stringy mucus, difficult to expectorate; cough 
and dyspnoea. 

Antimonium tart. — Most valuable in the second stage, 
when there is much wheezing; with sickness induced by the 
great accumulation of mucus ; and paroxysms of cough, 
dyspnoea, palpitation, etc. Extremely valuable in the 
bronchitis of children, with rattling of mucus in the 
chest. Prostration, with perspiring skin, is a great in- 
dication. 

Bryonia. — Heat, soreness, and pain behind the sternum 
(breast-bone), and irritative cough with scanty expecto- 
ration, constituting a " cold on the chest." It is most 
useful when the large air-tubes are involved, but less 
so when the inflammation extends to the smaller, 
where Ant. tart, is superior. Bryonia is very useful in 
acute attacks of children, with suffocative cough, rapid 
difficult breathing, great agitation and anxiety. Phos. 
may also be considered. 



126 DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 

Additional Remedies. — Ipec, Arsen., Bell, Carbo 
veg., Merc, Spong. and Sulph. 

Administration. — The selected remedy should be dis- 
solved in a tumbler half full of water, and teaspoonful 
doses given every hour until improvement sets in, then 
less often. 

Diet. — During an attack, gum-water, barley-gruel, 
jelly, etc. ; but cold water or toast-water is the most 
appropriate drink. In elderly or feeble patients, ex- 
haustion is liable to come on, requiring nutritious and 
frequent support, cod-liver oil, etc.; the latter is often 
an important item in the treatment of bronchitis (pp. 
98, 101). 

Accessory Measures. — In acute cases, the patient 
should be kept in a warm atmosphere (65 to 70 
degrees), which should be moistened by steam emitted 
from a kettle on the fire, or from a can of boiling water 
at the bedside. Ventilation of the apartment, however, 
should not be neglected. Hot linseed-meal poultices 
applied to the chest are beneficial, as they relieve con- 
gestion. 

Chronic Bronchitis. 

This form of bronchitis is common in advanced life. 
The milder varieties are indicated only by habitual 
cough, shortness of breath and copious expectoration. 
Many cases of winter cough in old persons are exam- 
ples of bronchial inflammation of a low type and pro- 
tracted character. 

Treatment. — Kali bich., Carbo veg., Bry., Arsen., 
Phos., Hepar sulph., Ipec, Lye, Calc. and Sulph. Also 
cod-liver oil. See under "Acute Bronchitis. " 

Preventive Means. — Cold bathing in the morning is 



ASTHMA. 127 

the first and most important, that form of bath being 
adopted which is found most useful and convenient 
(See " Bathing/' pp. 40, 99.) Another preventive is the 
beard, which protects the respiratory passages against 
the effects of sudden changes of temperature. The 
beard and mustache are a kind of natural respirator, the 
shaving off of which is a frequent cause of acute and 
chronic bronchitis. Can we doubt the wisdom and 
the beneficence of the Creator in giving this ornament 
to the man, who is so frequently exposed to atmos- 
pheric vicissitudes, and withholding from the woman, 
who, as the keeper at home, requires no such appendage? 
Hair is an imperfect conductor of both heat and cold, 
and, placed around the entrance to the lungs, acts as a 
blanket, which promotes warmth in cold weather and 
prevents the dissolving of ice in hot weather. In many 
instances, the hirsute appendages would protect lawyers, 
clergymen or other public speakers and singers from 
the injurious effects of rapid variations of the atmos- 
phere, from which professional men so often suffer. 
Acquiring the habit of keeping the mouth shut and breath- 
ing through the nose, especially when exposed to cold 
or damp air, is a great protection. This habit should 
be taught in early life, and mothers should see that 
their infant children sleep w^ith the mouth closed. 

38. — Asthma. 

This is a spasmodic disease, recurring in paroxysms, 
characterized by great difficulty of breathing, a feeling 
of tightness across the chest, wheezing cough, and often, 
at the close of an attack, a discharge of phlegm. The 
air-tubes of the lungs are encircled by minute bands 
of muscular structure, which, like other muscular 



128 DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 

fibers, may be affected by spasms. These spasms con- 
tract the air-tubes, and the difficulty of breathing and 
the wheezing respiration are caused by the air being 
forced through the narrowed channels. 

Symptoms. — An attack often comes on suddenly at 
night or toward morning, attended with a distressing 
sense of suffocation, the patient springing up, or even 
flying to an open window, wheezing loudly, until 
after an uncertain time, perhaps an hour, it passes 
off with more or less expectoration of mucus. 

Causes. — Atmospheric changes; smoke, dust, gases, 
metallic and other particles floating in the air ; certain 
odors, as of hay, Ipecacuanha or vapor of sulphur; 
irregularities of diet, especially heavy suppers ; sexual 
excesses and hereditary influence. It is not peculiar 
to any age, children as well as adults being liable to it. 
It is often the consequence of suppressed eruptions. 

Treatment. — The treatment should be directed to 
strengthening the organs during the intervals of attack, 
and quickly relieving the acute symptoms during the 
attack. 

Ipecacuanha. — A feeling of tightness of the chest; 
panting and rattling as if the windpipe were full of 
phlegm ; coldness, "paleness, anxiety and sickness. Dur- 
ing an attack, a dose every ten or fifteen minutes; 
afterward every three or four hours. 

Arsenicum. — Short, anxious, and wheezing breathing, 
aggravated at night by lying down, and upon the least 
movement ; with attacks of suffocation, spasmodic con- 
striction of the chest, and pale, sunken or bluish face. 
It is especially required in asthma from suppressed 
eruptions, and in feeble and impoverished constitutions. 

Antimonium tart. — Often loosens expectoration. 



INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 129 

Nux vomica. — Suitable for robust persons, and for 
attacks occurring about S or 4- o* clock in the morning, 
or after a heavy meal, or for patients of too studious 
habits, or addicted to stimulants. 

Aconitum. — Often very useful during a paroxysm, with 
tumultuous action of the heart, oppressive anxiety, la- 
bored breathing, etc. 

Xatrum sulph. — For the permanent cure of the mal- 
ady, give a dose every night for a month, and then less 
often. This remedy has cured many cases radically. 

Accessory Means. — Holding the breath will some- 
times break a spasm. Inhalation of steam, especially 
if medicated with the appropriate remedy, affords re- 
lief. The diet should be strictly moderate, simple and 
digestible, as disorders of the stomach often occasion 
an attack. Suppers are especially to be avoided. In 
some cases the food should be weighed, the meal-hours 
fixed and strictly adhered to. Drill and calisthenics 
should be resorted to for the purpose of expanding the 
chest. Cold sponging, with frictions, in the morning, 
moderate and agreeable exercise in the open air, and a 
strict avoidance of the usual exciting causes are to be 
observed. The atmosphere best suited to the patient 
depends entirely upon idiosyncrasy, as some can only 
breathe in a mountain air and others only in the fogs 
of London. 

39. — Inflammation of the Lungs (Peri-jmeiimonia), 
and Pleurisy {Pleuritis). 

Pneumonia affects one or both lungs, or, in technical 

terms, is single or double. The right lung is more 

liable to inflammation than the left, and the lowei 

lobes suffer oftener than the upper. In pleuriiis, the 

9 



130 DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 

inflammation affects the pleura or serous membrane in- 
vesting the lungs and lining the cavity of the thorax. 
These diseases frequently co-exist, require similar med- 
icines, and should be treated, if possible, by a homoe- 
opathic practitioner. 

Symptoms. — Shivering ; headache ; hard, wiry pulse, 
about 100 in a minute, and other symptoms of fever; 
the breathing is hurried, the patient refuses to take a 
full breath, and inspiration is often interrupted by a 
" stitch " or " catch," by a cough which is short and 
painful, by lying on the affected side, and by pressure. 
This is 'pleurisy. In pneumonia, the skin is burning, es- 
pecially about the ribs and armpits ; there is no moist- 
ure in the nostrils, and the eyes are tearless; the 
breathing is much more hurried than in pleurisy, but 
the only pain is of a dull, aching character ; the cough 
is frequent and short, and there is spitting of tough, 
rusty-colored phlegm, subsequently streaked with blood. 
Favorable symptoms are less labored and frequent 
breathing, freer expectoration, moister skin and tongue ; 
also increased excretions from the bowels and bladder. 
Unfavorable symptoms are small feeble pulse, cold, 
clammy perspiration, rapid breathing, blue lips, foul 
tongue, offensive breath, excessive debility and languor. 

Causes. — Atmospheric changes, sudden checking of 
the perspiration, mechanical injuries, etc. These dis- 
eases often arise during the course of the eruptive and 
other fevers. Feebleness of constitution- is often a pre- 
disposing cause. 

Treatment. — Aconitum. — Is pre-eminently suitable, 
either alone or in turns with other remedies, whenever 
inflammatory symptoms run high, and the secretory func- 
tions are suspended. 



INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 131 

Ferrum phos. — Especially in children, when there is 
fever, dry cough or hurried respiration. Often advan- 
tageously alternated with Bryonia. 

Bryonia. — Labored, short, catching and rapid breath- 
ing; stinging, shooting or burning pains in the side 
aggravated by inspiration; the cough is painful, dry, or 
with expectoration of glairy sputa ; the patient is irri- 
table, restless, weary and disposed to retain the recum- 
bent posture. Wants to keep perfectly still. 

Phosphorus. — Severe sticking pains in the chest, 
excited or increased by breathing or coughing; the 
breathing is short, the cough dry, or accompanied by 
rusty-colored expectoration. 

Antimonium tart. — Greatly oppressed breathing ; cough 
attended with much rattling of mucus ; nausea ; profuse 
and difficult expectoration ; violent throbbings of the 
heart and a feeling of suffocation. 

Arsenicum. — Tedious cases with extreme prostration of 
strength ; painfully oppressed breathing. 

Sulphur. — When the prominent symptoms have 
yielded to other remedies. 

General Treatment. — See " Accessory Measures," 
pp. 54-59. External applications of heat — hot flan- 
nels, linseed-meal poultices, etc. — afford much relief. 
Rubbing the chest and back with cod-liver oil or olive 
oil nourishes and warms the patient. Plenty of fresh 
air, at a temperature of not less than 65°, moistened 
with steam, facilitates the action of the lungs. Diet 
should at first be light, without stimulants; later on, 
stimulants judiciously given may be necessary. Blood- 
letting in every form must be avoided. 



132 DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 

40.— Cough (Tussis). 

Cough, like hoarseness, is rather a symptom of some 
more general disease than a disease in itself. It is 
often the forerunner or attendant of some of the most 
fatal diseases of our climate, and should, therefore, 
never be neglected. There are many varieties of cough, 
but our prescriptions are only intended for such as are 
common and uncomplicated. Cases that persist in 
spite of one or more of the annexed remedies should 
be regarded as too serious to be treated merely by the 
aid of books. 

Treatment. — Aconitum.- — A dry, hard cough, accom- 
panied with inflammatory symptoms — flushed face, head- 
ache, thirst, scanty urine, confined bowels, restlessness, 
etc. 

Ipecacuanha. — Irritating, nervous and spasmodic 
cough, attended or followed by vomiting (also Droserd). 
The chest is oppressed by the accumulation of mucus 
in the air-vessels, rendering breathing difficult, almost 
to suffocation. 

Belladonna. — Short, dry, hollow, convulsive cough, 
generally worse at night, in bed, excited by a sensation 
of tickling in the throat, and accompanied by flushed 
face and headache. 

Dulcamara.- — Loose cough from getting wet, with much 
phlegm and oppression at the chest. 

Bryonia. — A hard, dry cough, attended with pain in 
the side, chest and head ; cough aggravated by passing 
from warm air to cold, or vice versa; loose cough, with 
w T hite or yellow expectoration, sometimes streaked with 
blood. 

Hepar sulph.—* Irritating cough, with hoarseness an.d 



COUGH. 133 

smarting of the throat, excited or aggravated by cold to 
the surface of the body or exposure to atmospheric 
changes. 

Phosphorus, — Dry cough, excited by tickling in the 
throat; hoarseness and pains or soreness in the chest, 
with rusty-colored, bloody or 'purulent expectoration. 

Ferrum phos. — Cough, especially in children; colds 
on the chest; dry cough; hoarseness. 

Kali mur. — Loud, noisy stomach-cough ; also croupy 
cough. 

Carbo veg. — Cough on taking the least cold ; obstinate 
hoarseness or loss of voice. 

Kali bich. — Cough, with very tough expectoration, pre- 
ceded by great wheezing, with difficult breathing, and 
followed by dizziness. 

Sulphur. — Obstinate dry cough, with tightness in the 
chest and retching ; loose cough, with expectoration of 
whitish or yellowish mucus during the day, and dry 
cough at night, attended with headache, spitting of 
blood, etc. 

Beverages. — Gum-water, barley-water and other mu- 
cilaginous drinks, or, if preferred, simple cold water in 
small quantities at frequent intervals are highly bene- 
ficial in almost every variety of cough. 

Preventives. — Cold bathing or sponging the whole 
surface of the body every morning, as directed under 
" Bathing. " Clothing adapted to the varying conditions 
of the atmosphere. Exercise in the open air every day, 
if possible, beyond the boundaries of a town or city. Fa- 
miliarity with a free atmosphere affords a security 
against excessive sensibility to variations of the weather. 
Morning air is the best ; damp or confined air or the 
air of crowded assemblies should be avoided. Here, 



134 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 

again, keeping the mouth shut, and breathing through 
the nose, is a great preventive, more especially when 
irritability or tickling of the throat exists. 



CHAPTER VI. 
DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 



41.— Thrush (Aphtha)— Frog. 

Symptoms.— Small vesicles or white specks upon the 
lining membrane of the month, sometimes so connected 
as to form a continuous, dirty, diphtheritic-like cover- 
ing over the tongue, gums, palate, etc. In some forms 
of the disease microscopical parasitic plants are devel- 
oped in the mucous membrane, which are readily trans- 
ferred to the mother's nipples ; but they are never de- 
veloped on the interior of the stomach or bowels, being 
limited to those portions of the mucous membrane 
which are lined with scaly epithelium. Severe diar- 
rhoea, fever and other constitutional disturbances indi- 
cate great peril. In adults the disease is the result of 
some constitutional malady, as consumption, enteric 
fever or senile decay ; it is then also always of grave 
import. 

Causes. — A delicate or strumous constitution ; insuf- 
ficiency or unhealthy condition of the mother's milk, or 
an unsuitable quantity or quality of food in infants fed 
with the bottle or spoon ; general want of cleanliness ; 
constitutional disease. 

Treatment. — Borax. — The child's mouth should be 
w T ashed with a weak solution of Borax (four grains to 



DISORDERS OF TEETHING. 135 

half an ounce of glycerine and half an ounce of water), 
by means of a soft brush or soft rag. It has a specific 
power over this affection, and will cure it probably 
quite as well if used internally only, and, if the disease 
is limited to the mouth, without the aid of any other 
remedy. After awhile it may lose its efficacy, and then 
some other remedy must be resorted to. 

Kali mur. — A dose every two hours should be the first 
remedy given ; improvement will soon show itself. If 
necessary, after a few days, recourse may be had to one 
of the following remedies : 

Mercurius. — Is indicated by dribbling saliva, diarrhoea, 
offensive breath, etc.; if administered when the white 
specks first appear, it is often alone sufficient. A dose 
every six hours for several days. 

Arsenicum. — Dark color of the eruption ; offensive odor 
from the mouth; exhausting sickness and diarrhoea; great 
debility. A dose every four hours. 

Sulphur. — This remedy may follow any other, when 
the latter does no further good ; when the thrush has 
nearly subsided, to prevent a relapse ; and when there 
are eruptions on the skin, or sour-smelling breath. 

General Directions. — Cleanliness, ventilation, fresh 
air and proper diet are essential. When thrush is due 
to ill-health in the mother or nurse, the infant should 
be at once weaned. 

42. — Disorders of Teething (Dentition). 

Teething is an important process in the development 
of a child, and in delicate children is often accompa- 
nied by various local and general symptoms of dis- 
order, some of which are referred to under the follow- 
ing remedies. Other complaints, such as constipation, 



136 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 

diarrhoea, convulsions, etc., may be treated according 
to the instructions given in this book, under those 
headings. 

Causes of Disordered Dentition. — Excessive quan- 
tities of food, or improper food ; keeping the head too 
hot; local affections of the gums; strumous constitu- 
tion, etc. The period at which the milk-teeth appear 
is important. Too early dentition taxes the constitu- 
tion beyond its powers of endurance ; too late denti- 
tion indicates a feeble scrofulous constitution. In the 
latter cases, professional treatment should, if possible, 
be obtained.* 

Treatment. — Aconitum. — Heat, redness, pain, swollen 
gums, and restlessness. Aeon, is often invaluable dur- 
ing detention. 

Chamomilla. — This may follow Aeon, for dry cough ; 
short breathing; fretfulness; flushed cheeks; loose, 
green, or frothy stools. It is a sovereign remedy in 
many of the ailments of dentition. 

Coffea. — Morbid excitability, sleeplessness, restlessness 
and frequent changes, especially in the absence of 
fever. 

Belladonna. — Congestion to the head, with redness of 
the face and eyes; cerebral excitement; convulsive move- 
ments of the limbs ; sleeping with the eyes partially 
open ; child cries out, is hot and sweaty. 

Calcarea phos. — Slow or late dentition, especially in 
scrofulous children subject to looseness of the bowels 
with loss of flesh and strength. This is the best general 
remedy to give during the teething period. It will 

* For fuller particulars regarding dentition, see the author's 
"Diseases of Infan's an J Children." 



TOOTHACHE. 137 

regulate the function and prevent many serious trou- 
bles. Give a powder of the 3d trituration, about the 
size of a pea, three times a day, either dry on the 
tongue, or dissolved in the child's milk, or in a little 
water. 

Magnesia phos. — Colic, loose bowels, spasmodic symp- 
toms. Often useful after Bell, and Cham. 

Sllicea. — Similar symptoms to those of Calcarea, es- 
pecially when dentition is tardy, though the teeth are 
on the point of coming through. Like Calc, Sil. gener- 
ally obviates the necessity for lancing the gums. It is 
valuable for rickety children. 

Accessory Means. — Bad hygienic habits affecting the 
mother or child should be corrected. Out-of-door air is 
necessary for both ; also regularity in the hours of 
meals and sleep, and bathing or sponging of the whole 
body daily. The child should be provided with an 
elastic india-rubber ring to bite at. 

43. — Toothache (Odontalgia). 

Causes. — Decayed teeth, sudden changes of tempera- 
ture, indigestion, pregnancy or general ill-health. Neu- 
ralgic toothache occurs in paroxysms, and comes and 
goes suddenly. 

Treatment. — If strong Kreosote or Laudanum has 
been used locally, the mouth should be thoroughly 
cleansed before taking any of the medicines recom- 
mended in this section. 

Epitome of Treatment. — In this classification the 
remedies are prescribed in the order in which they are 
most frequently required : 

1. From Cold. — Merc, Aeon, (from a draught) y Puis. 

2. From Decayed Teeth. — Merc, Kreos. 



138 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 

3. Nervous Toothache. — Cham., Coff. 

4. Pains extending to neighboring Parts,- — Merc, Bell., 
Puis. 

5. With Swelling of the Face or Gums, — Cham., Merc, 
Bell. 

6. Toothache during Pregnancy, — Nux vom., Bell., Puis., 
or Cham. 

7. In Children, — Cham., Aeon., Calc 

Leading Indications. — Mercurius, — Decayed teeth, 
with tearing pains extending over the side of the face, 
and to the glands and ears ; pains aggravated by eating 
or drinking anything cold, or by cool or damp air; 
swelling of the face, soreness of the gums, gumboils, 
profuse flow of saliva, perspiration etc. 

Aconitum, — Full-habited patients, with flushed face, 
hot, swollen gums, thirst, restlessness. 

Belladonna, — Drawing, lacerating, or shooting pains, 
affecting several teeth, the ears, and side of the face, 
worse at night, in the open air, or by contact ; determi- 
nation of blood to the head, swelling of the cheek, etc 

Chamomilla. — Toothache from a draught, suppressed 
perspirations, or from mental emotions; jerking, shoot- 
ing, violent pains, which affect the ear on one side of 
the face, are worse at night after eating, and after taking 
anything hot ; agitation and restlessness ; swelling and 
flushing of one cheek with paleness of the other. 
Especially suited to the tootliache of children. 

Pulsatilla. — Throbbing or digging pains, extending 
from the decayed tooth to the eye, with semilateral 
headache ; the pains are worse in a warm room,, in the 
evening and in bed, but are mitigated by cold air or 
water. Pids. is most suited to mild persons of light 
complexion and to females with suppressed or scanty 
period. 



TOOTHACHE. 139 

Nux vomica. — Toothache from sedentary habits, 
stimulants or coffee, with indigestion, irregular action of 
the bowels, etc. The pains are worse at night, in the 
morning on waking, or when engaged in mental labor. 

Bryonia. — Rheumatic toothache, worse in warmth, 
but relieved by cold applications. 

Kreosote. — When the teeth are decayed, but without 
gumboil. 

Administration. — Every fifteen or twenty minutes till 
the pain is mitigated; afterward, every three or four 
hours. After three or four doses of any remedy have 
been taken without benefit, another should be selected. 

Accessory Treatment. — Brush the teeth in the morn- 
ing, after eating animal food and at bedtime. They 
should be brushed on their inner as well as on their 
outer side, and up and down, and not merely from side 
to side ; a moderately soft brush should be used. The 
idea that frequently brushing or cleansing the teeth is 
liable to lacerate the gums and separate them from the 
teeth is erroneous, for it is one of the best methods of 
restoring them to a healthy condition when they are 
spongy and inclined to bleed. Charcoal should be 
avoided because it is gritty. In very cold weather, 
tepid water should be used. 

The digestive organs should be maintained in a 
healthy condition by means of proper food and correct 
habits. Chewing or smoking tobacco, or the habitual use 
of strong drinks, drugs, ice or extremely hot food is 
likely to injure teeth naturally good. 

In some cases the only remedy for toothache is 
extraction, especially if the tooth be loose, much decayed 
and unfit for mastication ; but in most cases the pain 
may be speedily relieved by homoeopathic remedies. 



140 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 

If the caries be recent and slight, the decayed portion 
may sometimes be removed, the cavity filled with a 
suitable material, and thus a useful tooth may be pre- 
served for years. A qualified dentist should be con- 
sulted. 

Extraction should be delayed as long as possible. 
The first set should be preserved quite as carefully as 
the second, and, when practicable, decayed teeth filled. 
Early extraction of the first set of teeth lays the seeds of 
future trouble with the second. 

Gumboil. — When the gumboil forms, hot fomenta- 
tions or the application of the inner part of a roast fig 
to the suffering gum will relieve pain; at the same 
time, Hepar sulph. or Merc, should be taken every two or 
three hours. Frequently the extraction of a decayed 
tooth is necessary to obviate a recurrence of the trouble. 
If there be an abscess at the root of a fang, extraction 
may prevent disease of the jaw-bone. 

Preventive Means. — The face, temples, ears and 
neck should be well bathed with cold water every day, 
and afterward rubbed with a dry towel: also the mouth 
kept sweet and clean by rinsing it with cold water 
Incipient decay of teeth or sponginess of the gums 
should be corrected early. 

44. — Sore Throat (Dolor Faucium). 
Simple soreness or swelling of the throat, uncompli- 
cated by ulceration, quinsy or syphilis, is a very common 
accompaniment of cold in the head, and is generally 
easily curable by Aeon., when the throat is very dry and 
rough, and there is a hard, dry cough ; by BelL y if there 
be great redness of the parts, with a raw or scraped 
sensation; by Merc> if the throat feels swollen, the 



clergyman's sore throat. 141 

glands sore or enlarged, with slight deafness ; or by Nux 
if the stomach be disordered. The throat compress (p. 
83) expedites the cure and tends to prevent a recurrence. 
(See also the section on " Cold in the Head.") 

Clergyman's Sore Throat. 

The following remedies are recommended for the sore 
throat and hoarseness to which clergymen, public 
speakers and singers are liable: 

In the incipient and acute form. Aeon., Am., Bell., Ferr. 
phos., Phyto. ; in the chronic, Hepar sulph., Carbo veg., 
Kali bich., Caust., Baryta carb., Calc, Sulph. The wet 
compress at night is an excellent auxiliary. 

Prevention. — The morning bath; a uniform and 
equable exercise of the voice ; the wet compress, after 
prolonged exercise of the voice; breathing through the 
nose, especially on passing from a warm to a cold atmos- 
phere ; and the cultivation of the mustache and beard. 
On the latter we subjoin a few remarks. 

Cultivation of the Beard. — The beard and mus- 
tache should be permitted to grow, as they afford an 
excellent protection to the delicate organs of the voice 
of those in whom it is subjected to undue or irregular 
exercise. After a public address, the tissues in the 
vicinity of the throat become relaxed ; and on leaving 
the place of assembly and entering the open air, in- 
flammatory action commences, and, if repeated, chronic 
affections of the throat and bronchial tubes are often 
induced ; but the unshorn natural respirator, which our 
Maker intended to be one of the distinguishing features 
of the male sex, effectually protects these important 
parts. The hair planted on the human face by the 
wisdom and goodness of our Creator has its uses and, 



142 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 

we may add, its beauties. Let the young man, there- 
fore, never become a slave to the false and pernicious 
fashion which compels him to shave off the beard, as 
it is found contributory to the health, if not to the per- 
sonal improvement, of those who wear it. See also 
under " Bronchitis." 

45. — Quinsy (Cynanche Tonsillaris). 

This consists of inflammation of the tonsils and of 
the subjacent mucous membrane. 

Symptoms. — Heat, redness and rapid swelling of the 
tonsils, with hoarseness, severe throbbing pain, difficult 
swallowing and expectoration, and general fever. If 
prompt and skillful means be employed, the pain, 
swelling, and other inflammatory symptoms gradually 
subside; otherwise, matter forms, indicated by shiv- 
ering, throbbing, and darting pains extending to the 
ears. 

Causes. — The predisposing are scrofulous constitution, 
abuse of Mercury, and previous attacks of quinsy ; the 
exciting are cold, atmospheric changes, wet feet, etc. 

Treatment. — Aconitum. — Sore throat, with general 
feverish symptoms — chills, thirst, headache, dizziness, 
and restlessness. Generally required at the commence- 
ment. 

Baryta carb. — Is specific in simple quinsy. It may 
be given alone from the commencement, or alternated 
with Aeon, or Bell. 

Belladonna. — Acute, bright-red sore throat, with heat, 
dryness, painful difficulty in swallowing, flushed face 
and headache. A valuable remedy, either after, or in 
alteration with, Aeon. 

Mercurius. — Swollen throat ; copious accumulation of 



INDIGESTION. 143 

saliva in the mouth ; swelling of the gums and of the 
tongue; shooting pain on swallowing; an inclination 
to swallow the saliva, although painful ; a disagreeable 
taste in the mouth; fetid odor of the breath; ulcers 
on the sides of the mouth ; pains extending from the 
throat to the ear. 

Administration. — In acute cases, a dose every one or 
two hours, at first; in subacute, every three or four 
hours ; during convalescence, every six or twelve hours. 
"When swallowing is extremely difficult or impossible, 
two drops of the remedy on a small piece of sugar may 
be placed on the tongue. 

Accessory Means. — In severe cases, a hot poultice 
across the throat, extending nearly to each ear ; in mild 
cases, the throat compress (p. 61) may be applied. Bits 
of ice at times give instantaneous relief; sometimes 
frequent inhalation of the steam of hot water or a 
warm milk-and-water gargle wall be found soothing 
and useful. The patient should remain indoors, and, 
in bad cases, in bed. 

46. — Indigestion (Dyspepsia)* 
Digestion is the process which food undergoes in the 
stomach and other organs, for the formation of chyle, a 
milk-like liquor, from which blood is formed for repair- 
ing the continued waste of the animal body ; this proc- 
ess goes on in health easily, quickly and completely. 
Indigestion is a deviation from this healthy function in 
one or more of the qualities just named: it may be 
painful, slow or complete. 

Symptoms. — Impaired appetite ; flatulence ; nausea 

* See also u Essentials of Diet." 



144 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 

and eructations, which often bring up bitter or acid 
fluids ; furred tongue and offensive breath, especially in 
the morning ; confined or relaxed bowels ; heartburn j 
pain, weight and inconvenience or fullness after a meal ; 
headache ; palpitation and other symptoms. 

Causes. — Excessive eating; too short an interval 
between meals ; irregularities in diet ; food of a heavy, 
indigestible, fat, sour, flatulent or bad quality ; eating 
too quickly ; imperfect mastication ; warm and relaxing 
drinks; spirituous liquors, tobacco, or the excessive use 
of tea or coffee ; purgative drugs ; too little out-of-door 
exercise; excessive bodily or mental exertion; late 
hours ; exposure to cold and damp, etc. Business or 
family cares and anxieties are also frequent causes of 
dyspepsia. " The battle of life " is too often fought 
with almost overwhelming anxieties and disappoint- 
ments, or with much mental and bodily wear and tear, 
and the digestive organs are often the first to suffer. 

Remedies. — The use of medicines, and the observ- 
ance of such rules and habits as are suggested a little 
farther on, must ever go hand in hand ; for the former, 
however carefully selected, will alone be unavailing in 
the end. 

Nux vomica. — Distension, tenderness, and fullness of 
the stomach after meals ; heartburn, sour acid eructa- 
tions ; flatulence ; hiccough ; frequent vomiting of food 
and bile ; sour or bitter taste in the mouth ; confused 
head, as after intoxication ; sleepy feeling after a meal, 
and incapacity for mental or physical exertion ; sallow 
complexion; frequent but ineffectual urging to stool. 
Nux vom. is particularly indicated for too studious or 
anxious persons, of a dark or bilious complexion, who 
take too little open-air exercise, eat too much, or drink 



INDIGESTION. 145 

alcoholic liquors. A tendency to piles is a further indi- 
cation for this remedy, as also for Sulphur, which should 
then follow it. 

Pulsatilla. — Disposition to mucous derangements ; 
heartburn, with acid, bitter or putrid taste; thickly 
coated whitish tongue ; nausea ; frequent mucous evac- 
uations, chiefly at night, with little pain ; indigestion 
from greasy or flatulent food. Puis, is generally best 
suited to women, or to mild, timid persons. 

Bryonia. — Aversion to food and craving for stimu- 
lants ; waterbrash or eructations after eating ; pressure 
and a sensation as of a weight or stone in the stomach; 
colicky pains ; stitch-like pains, extending from the pit of 
the stomach to the shoulder-blades ; torpor of the 
bowels ; irritability. 

Lycopodium. — Indigestion of weakly patients ; delayed 
digestion ; sleepiness after meals, specially after dinner ; 
abdominal flatulence; torpid action of the bowels; 
gravelly urine. 

Antimonium crud. — Loaded mucous membrane, causing 
slow digestion with fermentation ; nausea, or vomiting of 
mucus or bile; foul eructations, or tasting of the food ; flatu- 
lence of a fetid odor, soon reproduced; alternate consti- 
pation and diarrhoea; haw T king and expectoration of 
phelgm; milky-white, thickly coated tongue; irritabil- 
ity of the bladder, with mucus deposit; pimples on 
the face, sores on the lips or nostrils, pustular eruptions, 
chilblains, or concurrent skin affections. 

China. — Indigestion from exhausting discharges, or from 
residence in an aguish district, with a feeling of sink- 
ing, relieved by food, but soon returning ; or simple, 
generally painless diarrhoea, leaving the patient ex- 
hausted. Much flatulence. 
10 



146 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 

Ipecacuanha. — Simple retching and vomiting from gas- 
tric disturbance, without inflammation of the stomach 
or any grave affection of the mucous membrane. 

Hepar sulph. — Chronic indigestion, when nearly all 
kinds of food disagree; also if Mercury has been used to 
excess. 

Sulphur. — As an intercurrent remedy, when only par- 
tial relief has followed the use of other remedies ; also 
in chronic cases. It is more particularly required in 
indigestion following or associated with eruptions, piles 
and constipation. 

Natrum phos. — Acidity, sour risings ; heartburn and 
waterbrash. 

See also the sections on " Headache," " Sick-head- 
ache," etc. 

Accessory Measures. — Dyspeptics should correct all 
improper habits, pay strict attention to the quality and 
quantity of food, and the hours at which it is taken. 
Directions for particular cases cannot be given, as what 
suits the constitution and circumstances of one may be 
inadmissible in those of another. But it is most im- 
portant that the symptoms of indigestion should be 
early corrected, or the patient may sink into a morbid 
condition, in which life is deprived of its rich oppor- 
tunities of enjoyment and usefulness. 

The following habits require correction : Eating too 
much at one time; eating too seldom, or too often ; late 
suppers ; too great a variety of food at the same meal ; 
imperfectly chewing the food ; the too hasty resuming 
of bodily or mental occupations after a meal ; seden- 
tary habits ; neglect of personal cleanliness ; habits of 
drinking, smoking or chewing tobacco, and opium eat- 
ing; the excessive use of tea, coffee, or any liq T ,.ld s and 



INDIGESTION. 147 

eating unripe fruits or improperly cooked vegetables. 
It is especially necessary that the dyspeptic's stomach 
should never be overloaded. 

If possible, the meals should be taken regularly and 
with cheerful companions, avoiding reading and study, 
and dismissing business anxieties from the mind, which 
should then be free from all injurious tension. Persons 
much occupied should not eat full meals during the 
hours devoted to industrial pursuits; a light repast is 
best in the middle of the day, making the principal 
meal at 6 or 7 in the evening, when the work of the 
day is finished. Heavy meals in the hours of physical 
labor, without sufficient rest, are almost certain, eventu- 
ally, to lead to indigestion. 

In the list of articles to be avoided by the dyspeptic, 
we particularly notice the following : Hard, dried meats, 
veal, pork, sausages, salmon, lobsters, crabs, cheese, 
pastry, flavored soups, new-baked bread ; too much tea 
or coffee, or any other liquid, and all substances known 
to disagree. Generally, malt liquors, wines and spirits 
are injurious; certainly they are never necessary in 
health. 

One of the most common causes of indigestion is 
the existence of carious teeth, by preventing due masti- 
cation of the food. This is often the sole cause of 
indigestion, and in all cases it cannot but aggravate 
dyspeptic symptoms originating elsewhere. The earli- 
est signs of decay should, therefore, be corrected by 
appropriate medicines, and by avoiding all causes which 
tend to impair the integrity of the teeth. Those teeth 
which are hopelessly diseased should be at once removed? 
and, if necessary for mastication, artificial substitutes 
should be provided. 



148 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 

Feather beds and too much sleep should be avoided ; 
the patient should retire early and rise early ; bathe or 
sponge the body every morning with cold water ; and 
take sufficient recreation daily in the open air. Neglect 
of everyday out-of-door exercise is, according to the 
author's experience, the most prolific cause of indiges- 
tion. Further, a general cheerful and tranquil state of 
mind is useful in the cure or prevention of this com- 
mon affection. 

In general, have no hobbies about diet. Avoid every- 
thing that you know from experience disagrees with 
you; but you need not necessarily avoid anything 
simply because it disagrees with others. Simple plain 
food, well and appetizingly cooked and served, and 
eaten in cheerful company at the home table, will do 
more to prevent and cure dyspepsia than all detailed 
rules of diet concocted by others. 

In addition to cocoa for the morning meal, and tea 
(not drawn longer than two or three minutes) for the 
afternoon, the moderate use of pure water is perhaps the 
only fluid required in health. This liquid, so often 
despised, and even considered by many as prejudicial, 
is one of the best means for preventing or curing indi- 
gestion. Too much cold water, however, should not be 
taken at meal-times, for it reduces the temperature of 
the stomach, and checks its action. Sometimes cold 
water is not tolerated ; in such cases toast-and- water is 
almost always well borne and agreeable. Hot water is 
an excellent remedy in the treatment of some forms of 
dyspepsia, especially cartarrh of the stomach. It should 
be taken one hour before meals, and sipped slowly, tak- 
ing about a quarter of an hour to drink a tumblerful. 
Sometimes it is well to take the medicine in that way. 



VOMITING. 149 

47. — Vomiting (Vomitus.) 

Causes. — Indigestion, of which vomiting is often a 
prominent symptom; too much or improper food; 
pregnancy ;* disease of the brain or derangement of 
the nervous system ; ulcer or cancer of the stomach ; 
obstruction of the intestines ; most of the eruptive 
fevers, etc. 

Prognosis. — Nausea and vomiting occurring in dis- 
eases of the brain, or in epilepsy, are unfavorable indi- 
cations; in pregnancy, or hysteria, they are merely 
symptomatic of irritation reflected by the nervous sys- 
tem to the stomach. "When vomiting affords relief, it is 
a favorable indication ; but if the symptoms preceding 
sickness be not relieved by it, but increase, the disease 
must be regarded as serious or complicated. 

Treatment. — Ipecacuanha. — Simple copious vom king 
with an extremely sickly sensation. 

Antimonium cruel. — Nausea ; thickly furred white tongue; 
eructations ; loss of appetite, etc. 

Arsenicum. — Burning in the stomach and throat, ex- 
cessive weakness, purging, coldness of the hands and 
feet, etc. (also Verat. alb.). Even in vomiting from ma- 
lignant or cancerous disease of the stomach, Ars. often 
gives relief. 

Xux vomica. — Vomiting, with dryness of the mouth, dis- 
turbed sleep, and constipation. It is especially indi- 
cated when vomiting follows the use of strong drink, 
indulgence at table, or late or irregular hours. 

Accessory Means. — In violent vomiting and long- 
continued retching, sucking small pieces of ice is grate- 

* See the " Lady's Manual of Homoeopathic Treatment." 



150 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 

ful and soothing. Extract of meat, in small quantities, 
is the form of nourishment generally best adapted to 
the imperfect condition of the digestive functions, till 
ordinary food can be taken. In other cases, soda-water 
and milk, in equal proportions, given in small quanti- 
ties, can be retained and digested. Iced champagne is 
efficacious also. 

48. — Seasickness (Nausea Marina). 

Symptoms. — These need not be described, as they are 
so well known to persons embarking for the first time, 
especially during the early part of the voyage, and when 
. stormy weather prevails. 

Cause. — The motion of the vessel. The seat of the 
affection is in the brain, with which the stomach is in 
close sympathy. Some persons of delicate nervous or- 
ganization are subject to similar derangement from the 
oscillations of a carriage or the movements of a swing. 

Treatment. — Nux vomica. — The complaint may be 
prevented or modified by taking this remedy thrice 
daily, for several days previous to embarkation. It i3 
also useful after the sickness is over, and may be alter- 
nated with Arn., if the muscles have been severely 
strained and feel sore. 

Glonoin and Petroleum are, in our experience, the best 
curative agents. 

Accessory Means. — For several days before embark- 
ing, indigestible food, overloading the stomach, and 
other irregularities should be avoided. During the 
early part of the voyage, unless the weather be very 
fine, the traveler should remain a good deal in a recum- 
bent posture, avoid looking at the motion of the waves, 
and keep his attention diverted from the subject. Iced 



DYSENTERY. 151 

champagne is probably the best and most grateful 
palliation. 

49. — Dysentery — Bloody Flux. 

Dysentery is inflammation and ulceration of the 
large intestine, and is most frequent and violent in In- 
dia, the Chinese seas and other hot climates. In this 
country it is most frequent in autumn. From its being 
an attendant on war, it is the most anciently described 
of all diseases. 

Symptoms. — This disease is generally attended with 
thirst, dry skin and tongue, headache and other symp- 
toms of fever. The most marked symptom of dysentery 
is frequent, painful desire to stool, with great straining 
(tenesmus) without any evacuation, except a little mucus 
and blood, shreds of fibrine which the patient some- 
times thinks to be the coats of his own bowels, and 
lumps of hardened faeces (scybalx). In hot climates the 
attacks are acute and violent, the pain being very se- 
vere around the navel and at the bottom of the back. 
The bladder often sympathizes with the rectum, excit- 
ing frequent efforts to pass water. 

Causes. — Exposure to sudden and extreme changes 
of temperature, as from the heat of day to the cold and 
damp of night; insufficient protection from cold and 
wet, as sleeping on the ground ; intemperance ; a poor 
or irregular diet. It is, therefore, often epidemic among 
people reduced by privation, particularly soldiers in 
camps. The effluvia from dysenteric evacuations are 
infectious, and consequently may be a cause of spread- 
ing the disease ; they should therefore be disinfected 
and immediately removed, or, if convenient, buried. 

Remedies. — Aconitum. — If febrile symptoms are well 



152 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 

marked, the early use of this remedy will often arrest 
the disease at its onset. It should be administered sev- 
eral times, at short intervals. 

Mercurius cor. — Bloody evacuations, with pain and ex- 
tremely severe straining. This is the principal remedy. 

Colocynthis. — Is often required after Merc, especially 
when the colicky pains are severe and periodic, and the 
discharges mixed with green matter or lumps. If Merc. 
has not been previously administered, it may be alter- 
nated with Coloc. 

Arsenicum. — Extreme weakness ; burning pain ivith the 
evacuations; coldness of the extremities; cold breath; 
feces and urine putrid, offensive, and often passed 
involuntarily. 

Ipecacuanha. — Autumnal dysentery, with nausea, much 
straining and colic ; the evacuations are first slimy, after- 
ward bloody. Often advantageously alternated with 
Bryonia. 

Administration. — In severe cases, a dose every 
twenty or thirty minutes ; in mild, every two or three 
hours. 

Accessory Means. — The patient should maintain a 
reclining posture in bed, in a well-ventilated apartment, 
and in bad cases use the bed-pan instead of getting up. 
Local applications afford great relief, the best of which 
is the cold compress — i. e., two folds of linen, or a napkin, 
wrung out after immersion in cold water, and applied 
over the bowels, covered with oiled silk, and secured by 
a flannel bandage around the whole abdomen. If the 
pains are very severe, flannels wrung out of hot water 
should be applied, a second hot flannel being ready 
when the first is removed. The best beverages are cold 
water, gum-water, milk, etc. ; the diet should be restricted 



RUPTURE. 153 

to arrowroot, cocoa, boiled milk, macaroni, oranges, ripe 
grapes, etc. Even broths are inadmissible during the 
worst stages. Animal food and stimulants should be 
withheld, except during recovery and in chronic cases, 
when extract of meat should be taken. In extreme 
cases, patients may be kept alive on wine alone, when 
the stomach will retain nothing else. Claret is the best 
in this country, and in wine-growing countries the ordi- 
nary table wine. Eight ounces may be taken daily, as 
much as two or three ounces being given at a time and 
extremely slowly. Rice-milk — milk having had rice 
boiled in it for two or three hours and then strained — 
may afterward be given as well. A teacupful may be 
given two hours after the wine. Great care is required 
in returning to solid food, and the importunities of pa- 
tients must be strenuously resisted. Cold and sudden 
changes of temperature and damp night air should be 
carefully avoided. The feet and abdomen should al- 
ways be kept warm. 

50. — Rupture {Hernia), and Strangulated 
Hernia. 

Nature. — Rupture is a protrusion of some portion of 
intestine or its covering through the walls of the 
abdomen, causing a swelling. If such a portion of 
the intestine become constricted in any way, so that 
the contents of the bowel cannot pass onward, and the 
circulation of blood is impeded, it is said to be 
strangulated. 

Symptoms. — A painful, tense and incompressible 
swelling ; flatulence and colicky pains ; desire to go to 
stool, and inability to pass anything, unless there be 
fsecal matter in the bowel below the rupture. If relief 



154 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 

be not obtained, inflammation sets in, with vomiting, 
extreme pain, small wiry pulse, etc. ; and, finally, mor- 
tification with cessation of pain, and death. 

Causes, Predisposing. — Weakness of the abdominal 
walls from disease, injury, or congenital deficiency. 
Exciting causes — violent exertion, as in lifting ; immoderate 
straining, as in passing urine through a stricture, or in 
relieving the bowels. Continuous crying of infants. 

Treatment. — In simple rupture there is no danger. 
A medical man should be sent for, and the patient kept 
lying down. Where there are symptoms of strangulation 
— pain, sickness, collapse — the danger is great, and a 
medical man should be summoned immediately. In the 
meantime unskilled persons should not meddle with 
the tumor. The patient should be placed on a board, 
raised so as to form a steep inclined plane, the legs up- 
permost. The legs should be drawn up, to relax the 
walls of the abdomen. The head should be supported 
by a pillow. Nux vom. should be given every five 
minutes. 

To prevent a recurrence, a suitable truss should be 
worn ; and as it is important that the truss be exactly 
adapted to the case, a surgeon should be consulted. 

51. — Worms (Helminthia). 

Intestinal worms being the attendants of certain 
morbid states, the treatment should be directed against 
the disease itself, rather than against the products it 
engenders. The effect of most allopathic remedies is, 
at the best, to excite a discharge of the worms, without 
correcting the morbid condition on which their presence 
and reproduction depend. 

Varieties. — There are three chief species of worms 
which infest the human body, viz.: 



WORMS. 155 

1. The Oxyuris vermicular is, or threadworm, infests 
especially the rectum. It is small, about a quarter to 
half an inch long, occurs chiefly in children, and occa- 
sions much local irritation. The chief symptom is an 
intolerable creeping itching within and about the anus 
in the evening, aggravated by the warmth of the bed ; 
also picking of the nose, fetid breath, depraved appe- 
tite, and disturbed sleep. 

2. The Ascaris lumbricoides, or round-worm, also exists 
in children, its habitat being the small intestines, where 
it feeds on the chyle, and attains a length of six to twelve 
inches. The symptoms, often obscure, are pains in the 
belly, fretfulness, grinding of the teeth, disturbed sleep, 
or convulsive attacks ; also itching of the nose and anus. 
The child becomes sallow, its limbs waste, but its belly 
is enlarged, hot and tense; the appetite is uncertain, 
often voracious ; the breath is offensive ; and the stools 
contain much slimy mucus. The worms sometimes 
travel upward into the stomach and are vomited, 
or downward into the colon, and are passed with the 
stools. 

3. The Txnia solium, or tapeworm, is nearly white, 
flattened, and of a jointed structure; it attains a great 
length, even many yards, by repetition of the joints 
and exists both in adults and children. The symptoms 
being masked, its presence is often unsuspected until 
portions are passed in the motions, the head still remain- 
ing. There are seldom more than one worm present at a 
time, yet each joint possesses an ovary, and its eggs are 
millions, but they are discharged with feces, and de- 
voured by unclean animals — swine, ducks and rats — in 
these creatures they become developed, but not into 
tapeworms, for they go through several generations be- 



156 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 

fore returning to the jointed form. They are probably 
introduced into the human body by eating unwhole- 
some animal food, especially " measly " pork, or tripe, 
and sausage-skins, improperly cooked. The ova some- 
times reach the circulation, and in the liver or other 
organs are developed into encysted entozoa, commonly 
called hydatids. 

General Symptoms of Worms. — Sudden changes in 
the color of the face; dark semicircles under the eyes; 
copious flow of saliva; nausea; insipid, acid, or fetid 
odor of the breath ; a voracious, alternating with a poor, 
appetite ; itching of the anus ; talking, and grinding the 
teeth during sleep ; thick and whitish urine ; tight- 
ness and swelling of the lower part of the abdomen; 
frequently emaciation ; and, sometimes, convulsions or 
delirium. Perhaps the only certain sign is the presence 
of worms in the stools, or in the matter vomited. 

Treatment. — Cina — A valuable remedy for the con- 
dition producing threadworms or round-worms, with 
the following symptoms : Boring at the nose, livid 
circles round the eyes, tossing about, or calling out 
suddenly during sleep. Convulsions, nausea and vom- 
iting, griping, itching at the anus, and white and thick 
urine, sometimes passed involuntarily. 

Mercurius. — Diarrhoea, slimy stools, distension of the 
abdomen, difficult teething, and augmented secretion of 
saliva. 

Ignatia. — Intense itching at the seat, nervousness^ 
epileptiform attacks, etc., especially in mild, sensitive 
persons. 

Natrum phos. — Worms, whether thread or round. 
Pain in bowels ; restless sleep. Itching at seat ; grind- 
ing of teeth ; acidity, pricking of nose, squinting. 



DIARRHOEA. 157 

Calcarea. — In patients having a hereditary predispo- 
sition to worms, with scrofulous symptoms, and after 
discontinuing other remedies. 

In addition to the treatment here prescribed, the 
tapeworm requires other remedies, and often in large 
doses. The oil of male fern, given fasting, is generally 
necessary. 

Accessory Means. — The food should be simple, easy 
of digestion, and taken only at regular hours ; underdone 
vegetables, pastry, malt liquor, sugar, sweetmeats and 
sweet-made dishes should be strictly avoided. Salt, as 
a condiment, should be taken with the food ; it assists 
digestion and poisons the worms. A draught of spring- 
water should be swallowed on rising; also injections, as 
follows : 

Injections. — These are useful as means for expelling 
the worms, and partly to prevent their re-formation; 
half a pint or more of tepid water, in which ten drops 
of common turpentine have been mixed, once or twice 
repeated, will often suffice to relieve a patient thus 
troubled. It is better administered at bedtime. After- 
ward, a simple cold or tepid injection should be used 
regularly about three times a week, for three or four 
months, to wash away the slime in which the ova 
exists. But the general and medicinal treatment only 
can be relied upon for correcting the health and pre- 
venting their re-formation and future development. 

52. — Diarrhoea— Looseness of the Bowels- 
Purging. 

Common diarrhoea is a functional disorder, consisting 
of frequent liquid faecal evacuations, without inflamma- 
tion of the intestines. 



158 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 

Causes. — Unusual, excessive, acrid, or indigestible 
food, especially unripe or decaying raw fruits; pork, 
veal, etc. ; putrid or diseased animal food ; atmospheric 
influences ; fatigue ; suppressed eruptions ; mental emo- 
tions, etc. 

Diarrhoea is often a symptom of other diseases, as 
hectic and phthisis, when it is called colliquative diar- 
rhoea, because it appears to melt down the substance of 
the body ; the diarrhoea of typhoid fever ; bilious diar- 
rhoea, from excessive flow of bile, as in hot weather, or 
after passing a gall-stone; and serous diarrhoea, with 
watery discharge. Looseness of the bowels is also a 
very common precursor of cholera, when that disease is 
epidemic. 

When the diarrhoea arises from indigestion or dissi- 
pation, it may be regarded as an effort of nature to 
expel substances which might otherwise give rise to 
more serious disturbances. 

Treatment. — Camphor. — In sudden and recent cases, 
with chilliness, shivering, cold creeping of the skin, 
severe pain in stomach and bowels, cold face and 
hands, and cramps in the legs or stomach. Two drops on 
a small piece of loaf-sugar, every twenty or thirty min- 
utes, for three or four times ; if ineffectual it should then 
be discontinued. 

Antimonium cruel. — Watery diarrhoea, with white furred 
tongue, disordered stomach, nausea and eructations. 

Pulsatilla. — Mucous diarrhoea, occurring chiefly at 
night, with little pain; the tongue is coated with a 
whitish fur; the taste is diminished or altered, and, 
generally, nausea, foul or acrid eructations, etc. Pulsa- 
tilla is curative in diarrhoea from fat or rich food. 

Golocynthis. — Brown watery or faecal diarrhoea, with 
much griping pain. 



DIARRHCEA. 159 

Podophyllum. — Diarrhoea coming on in the morning, 
yellow watery or slimy motions, tendency of the bowel 
to protrude. 

China. — Simple summer diarrhoea; little pain, food 
passes imperfectly digested. 

Mercurius. — Green or clay-colored stools. Never-get- 
done feeling. 

Dulcamara. — Catarrhal diarrhoea, watery or yellowish, 
with little or no pain, traceable to damp, particularly 
in the summer and autumn. 

Natrum sidph. — Diarrhoea, worse in the morning and in 
damp weather. Flatulence generally present. Chronic 
diarrhoea. 

Sulphur. — Chronic diarrhoea, watery, great urging, 
coming on in the morning in bed, griping and strain- 
ing ; from suppressed eruptions. 

Veratrum. — Choleraic diarrhoea, with copious watery 
discharges, occurring in gushes, and accompanied with 
severe vomiting, debility, etc. ; involuntary diarrhoea; 
summer diarrhoea, watery, with much griping; diar- 
rhoea from cold. 

Arsenicum. — Diarrhoea, accompanied or ushered in by 
vomiting, with great heat of the stomach, ascending to 
the throat ; a burning sensation attending the discharge 
of the motions ; griping watery stools ; coldness of the 
body, pallid and sunken face, and great prostration. It 
is chiefly suited to chronic diarrhoea, with symptoms 
indicating organic disease. 

Administration. — A dose every one, two or three 
hours, according to the violence of the symptoms, or after 
every motion, until relieved. 

Accessory Means. — Rest in the recumbent posture; 
warmth to the extremities, and avoidance of sudden 



160 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 

changes of temperature. Individuals subject to diar- 
rhoea from slight causes, and having a feeling of cold- 
ness about the body, should wear a flannel roller 
around the abdomen. Night air and late hours predis- 
pose to attacks. Except in severe cases, moderate out- 
of-door exercise should be taken daily. Mental excite- 
ment and physical excesses of every kind should be 
avoided. 

Diet. — Food should be given cool and sparingly, con- 
sisting of light non-irritating substances — sago, tapioca, 
milk, rice-milk, arrowroot, baked rice puddings, white 
fish, etc. ; bland drinks. No coffee, spices, acids, eggs, 
fruit or stimulants should be allowed. The white of 
egg beaten up into a froth, and flavored with a few drops 
of lemon juice and a little sugar, is an excellent thing in 
diarrhoea. Beef-tea must be avoided. 

53. — Diarrhoea in Children. 

Healthy infants have usually two or three motions in 
twenty-four hours. If the discharges become much more 
frequent, unnatural in color, watery, and accompanied 
with pain, medical treatment is necessary. Depending, 
moreover, as it often does, on functional causes only, it 
well repays our careful attention. 

Chamomilla. — Diarrhoea during teething, or from cold 
with colic, crossness and restlessness ; greenish, watery, 
bilious, frothy and offensive motions, with pinching 
pains and fretfulness. 

Ipecacuanha. — Summer diarrhoea, with vomiting ; di- 
arrhoea from overloading the stomach. 

Pulsatilla. — Loose, greenish, bilious motions, with flat- 
ulence or griping, from indigestion, especially in fair 
and delicate children. 



COLIC. 161 

Calcarea phos. — Diarrhoea in teething children, espe- 
cially when they are scrofulous or rachitic. Stools are 
hot, watery, offensive, sputtering. 

See also previous section. 

Administration. — See the previous section. See also 
under " Teething," " Worms," and " Thrush." 

54. — Colic (Enteralgia). 

Symptoms. — Severe twisting, griping, tearing pain 
about the navel, recurring in paroxysms, but relieved 
by pressure, so that the patient lies on his belly, press- 
ing his abdomen with his hands, writhing in agony. 
There is a frequent desire to relieve the bowels, but 
often nothing passes except a little flatus. Febrile 
symptoms as in inflammation of the intestines are ab- 
sent, and the pulse is not quickened, unless it becomes 
so from anxiety. The symptoms abate when vomiting, 
eructation or a discharge from the bowels takes place. 

Causes. — Cold ; a mass of heterogeneous, acrid, indi- 
gestible food ; worms ; constipation. A condition re- 
sembling colic may also arise from stricture of the 
intestines (intussusception). Painters' colic arises from 
the poison of lead. 

Treatment. — Colocynthis. — Violent pains, compared to 
stabbing or clawing, with flatulence and diarrhoea. 

Magnesia phos. — Flatulent colic. Must bend double, 
or draws the legs up. Better by friction, warmth and 
belching. 

Xux vomica. — From indigestible food, suppressed pe- 
riod, or during pregnancy, with severe contracting pains 
low in the abdomen and relieved by pressure, ineffect- 
ual efforts to relieve the bow T els, or alternate constipa- 
tion and relaxation. 
11 



162 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 

Chamomilla, — Particularly suitable for children. See 
the symptoms in the preceding section. 

Oma.— Colic from threadworms. 

Opium. — Lead colic. 

Accessoky Means. — An injection of a pint of tepid 
water by means of the enema apparatus frequently 
gives immediate relief. Applications of heat to the 
abdomen, or a warm bath, are also useful measures. 
Persons subject to colic should avoid food of a flatu- 
lent character, not take too much liquid, or fast too 
long, should wear flannel round the abdomen, and 
keep the feet dry. 

55. — Constipation — Confined Bowels. 

A tendency to costiveness, or sluggish action of the 
bowels, is not so grave a symptom as many persons 
suppose it to be ; indeed, individuals thus predisposed 
generally live long, unless they injure themselves by 
purgatives, while those who are subject to frequent 
attacks of diarrhoea are soon debilitated, and often be- 
come prematurely old. The common idea that ape- 
rients contribute to health, not only in sickness, but also 
occasionally in health, and that impurities are thereby 
expelled from the body, is most erroneous and mis- 
chievous. 

This may be easily demonstrated. Let purgatives be 
taken for a week, and, however good may have been 
the state of health previously, at the termination of 
this period all sorts of impurities will be discharged, 
especially after taking jalap and calomel As this is an 
invariable result, even in the case of those who have 
never been ill, it proves that impurities are produced by 
those drugs. 



CONSTIPATION. 163 

In sickness purgatives are also most injurious. Disease weakens the whole sys- 
tem. " The bowels, therefore," writes Dr. Yeldham, "in common with the legs, 
the arms, the stomach, the brain and every other organ, partake of the general 
debility, and become deprived of that power by which, in a state of health, they 
are enabled to discharge their proper functions. Why should they, more than the 
other organs, be impelled to the performance of a duty to which, at the time, they 
are totally unequal ? 

" Again, under the process of disease, the whole vital power is deToted to the 
struggle which is going on in the affected part. The attention to the system is, as 
it were, drawn off as well from the bowels as from every other organ not immedi- 
ately engaged in the contest. On this account also they remain quiescent ; and 
auy interference with that quietude, by diverting the vital energy, weakens that 
force which nature requires to be undivided, to enable her to conduct her combat 
with disease to a successful issue — an additional reason why purgatives should 
be avoided. 

" Constipation is an effect, not a disease ; if it were, there might be some show of 
reason in the use of aperients. But being merely a temporary loss of power, we 
can no more restore that power by forcing the action of the bowels than we can 
impart strength to a weakened leg by compelling it to walk. In the latter instance, 
we should instinctively rest the part, until, by the removal of the disease, motion 
might be resumed. The same reasoning applies with equal force to the removal of 
constipation. The exercise of a little patience, and the employment of judicious 
means for the eradication of that disordered condition on which the inaction de- 
pends, will as infallibly restore the bowels to their duty, as in every other instance 
the effect must cease when the cause is removed." 

Causes. — Sedentary habits ; dissipation ; an improper 
quality of food, especially the too exclusive use of 
bread without vegetables; the use of superfine flour; 
the adulteration of bread by alum ;* mental anxiety ; 
diseases of the liver; exposure to the action of lead, as 
in painters ; mechanical obstruction from tumors, her- 
nia, stricture of the rectum, etc. ; inflammatory disease 
of the intestines, brain or spinal cord. 

But a frequent cause of constipation is loss of tone 
of the mucous lining of the bowels /rora the habitual use 
°f purgatives. Many persons take a purgative once a 
week, the primary effect of which is a sort of diarrhoea, 
but the secondary effect is constipation. 

An important point will be gained if we can bring 

"Alum is very extensively used to improve the appearance of 
inferior flour. 



164 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 

persons to consider constipation simply as a result of 
other causes, and a want of balance in the general sys- 
tem, and when measures shall be directed to the cor- 
recting of this condition as the only rational means of 
curing constipation. 

Constipation and Old Age. — Daily evacuation, 
which, perhaps, should be the rule in youth and mid- 
ble life, is often in excess in advanced life, when thrice 
or even twice a week is often sufficient. It is desirable 
that this physiological fact should be known, as old 
persons often trouble themselves needlessly on this 
point. The chief evil of the condition lies in the ner- 
vous anxiety it occasions. 

Treatment. — If headache, dry tongue, hot skin, etc., 
co-exist with constipation, one of the following reme- 
dies may be selected : 

Nux vomica. — Frequent ineffectual inclination to stool ; 
irregular action of the bowels ; constipation, with nau- 
sea and sickness in the morning, distension and heavi- 
ness in the stomach, ill-humor, fullness or pain in the 
head, uneasy sleep, etc. It is suited to constipation 
following intoxicating drinks, eating too much or too great 
a variety of food at one time; overstudy and sedentary 
habits. It is especially suitable to patients of a dark 
bilious temperament. 

Bryonia. — Torpor of the bowels (thus differing from 
the ineffectual or irregular . action indicating the pre- 
vious remedy) ; constipation, with chilliness, headache, 
and irritability, or associated with rheumatism, or heat 
of the weather. 

Opium. — Constipation from a general paralytic con- 
dition, leading to inertia of the intestines ; obstinate 
constipation with a feeling as if the anus were closed ; 



CONSTIPATION. 165 

hard, lumpy motions ; headache, dizziness, dry mouth, 
thirst, listlessness, and dusky face; also in chronic 
cases, from too little out-of-door exercise. Especially 
adapted to the aged, 

Lycopodium. — Itching and tightness of the anus ; 
rumbling and flatulence in the abdomen; waterbrash; 
heartburn; the bowels feeling warm, dry, and dis- 
tended ; loaded urine. 

Sulphur. — Habitual costiveness, piles, burning and 
itching of the anus, etc. It is also valuable as an inter- 
current remedy, and frequently aids the action of Nux 
vom. 

Accessory Measures. — No medicines can be of per- 
manent benefit if the bad habits which led to the con- 
stipation are persisted in. Moderate walking exercise 
is useful, particularly in the morning in the country. 
Water (see p. 36, and under " Dyspepsia") is an ex- 
tremely valuable adjunct, both for internal and exter- 
nal use. Cold baths, especially the shower and the 
sitz, are strongly recommended as being easy of applica- 
tion. The wet compress at night is often an invaluable 
remedy ; also injections, as recommended farther on. 
Regularity in attending to the calls of nature is impor- 
tant; the best time to solicit the bowels to act is in the 
morning, usually after breakfast. By fixing the mind 
on this operation for a few days, the bowels will gener- 
ally respond, and constipation be sometimes removed 
by attention to this point alone. 

Diet. — Meals should be taken with regularity, ani- 
mal food eaten sparingly, but vegetables and ripe fruit 
freely. Peas, pea-soup, hard eggs, boiled rice, boiled 
milk, coffee, strong or green tea, claret, port wine, 
spirits, highly seasoned food and late suppers should 



166 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 

be avoided; roasted apples, stewed figs, and prunes 
and tamarinds may be taken. Oatmeal porridge, 
with treacle, may be taken for breakfast ; and brown bread 
should be preferred to white. If brown bread be not eaten 
exclusively, a little should be taken with nearly every 
meal ; its effects will thus be more uniformly exerted 
through the alimentary canal than if only taken occa- 
sionally. 

Injections. — In obstinate and protracted constipa- 
tion, and when the lower bowel is obstructed with fgecal 
matter, either in too large masses or too hard and dry 
for discharge, and if the means before suggested prove 
ineffectual, the enema may be used as a certain means 
of obtaining the desired relief, while it reduces the tem- 
perature of the rectum, and removes the sensation of 
congestion. At the same time, the use of the enema 
does not interfere with the administration of any 
homoeopathic remedy necessary to cure the disease, of 
which the constipation is a symptom. The injection 
should consist of a pint or more of water, according 
to the portion of the bowel where the accumulation 
exists, and should be slowly injected up the rectum 
by means of an enema apparatus. On commencing to 
use injections, the temperature of water for this pur- 
pose should not be lower than 72°, and gradually re- 
duced to 64°. Unirritating in its operation, and acting 
directly on the seat of obstruction, an injection is 
greatly preferable to deranging the whole alimentary 
tract with strong drugs, which, after the unnatural exci- 
tation has subsided, only settle back into a state of 
greater debility and torpor than before. Still, it is not 
advisable to use them too regularly, but rather only 
occasionally. 



PILES. 167 

56. — Piles (Hemorrhoids). 

These consist of small tumors, sometimes outside 
(external piles) and sometimes within (internal piles) the 
opening of the lower bowel, either with or without 
bleeding. They vary in number, from one small 
intensely painful swelling, to numbers clustering to- 
gether like a bunch of grapes. These swellings are 
attended with pricking, itching, shooting, throbbing, 
burning, or pressive pains, increased on going to stool, 
and sometimes with dull pains in the loins. Blood is 
often passed with the evacuations, sometimes only in 
drops, but at other times in considerable and even 
alarming quantities. 

Causes. — Obstinate constipation ; drastic purgatives ; 
heating and stimulating food or drink; a luxurious 
life ; sedentary habits ; pressure of the enlarged womb 
upon the vessels of the pelvis during pregnancy ; sit- 
ting on cold stones, damp grass, or on warm or soft 
cushions ; excessive boat or horse-exercise ; overexcite- 
ment of the sexual organs ; or whatever causes a re- 
laxed state of the mucous membrane or hinders the 
return flow of blood from the lower bowel. 

Treatment. — Nux vomica. — Valuable in almost every 
form of piles, especially if associated with sedentary 
habits, confined bowels, or the use of intoxicating 
drinks, strong coffee, etc. See also Sulphur. 

Sulphur. — Chronic piles, from abdominal plethora, 
especially when associated with constipation. The 
evacuations are often mixed with blood ; there is great 
pain, and the tumors protrude considerably, and are 
pushed back with difficulty; also with itching and 
burning of the anus, and smarting pain in passing water. 



168 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 

Sulphur is often alternated with Nux vom., the latter 
administered at night, and the former in the morning ; 
or Sulphur may follow Nux vom. to complete the cure. 

Belladonna.— Eelieves throbbing and bleeding, and 
lessens congestion to the brain in apoplectic subjects. 

Arsenicum. — A hurning sensation, as from hot needles, 
and general prostration. 

Aconitum. — Profuse discharges of blood, throbbing 
and inflammatory symptoms in the parts. 

Additional Remedies. — Hamamelis, when there is 
much bleeding. JEsculus, when there is little bleeding, 
but constipation and knotty stools, and pain in the back. 
Pulsatilla, in bilious persons, mucous discharge. Aloes, 
rawness, soreness, much bleeding, loose bowels, and 
prolapse. 

Calcarea fluor. — Chronic piles. 

A lotion of Hamamelis (ten drops to a teacupful of 
water), to be used after motions and two or three times 
a day, and applied to the parts on a piece of soft linen 
at night, is nearly always helpful. JEsculus cerate is also 
an excellent application, or the remedy may be applied 
as a suppository and inserted at bedtime. These sup- 
positories can be obtained at all homoeopathic phar- 
macies. 

Diet and Accessory Means. — Patients should avoid 
highly seasoned dishes, coffee, peppers, spices, alcoholic 
beverages and all kinds of indigestible food. Light 
animal food, properly cooked vegetables and ripe fruits 
form the most useful diet. Sedentary habits, too much 
standing, and the use of cushions and feather beds are 
prejudicial. The pain attending blind-piles may be re- 
lieved by ablution with cold water, or with tepid water, 
or tepid vineger and water, in equal proportions, if that 



PROTRUSION OF THE BOWEL. 169 

be found more agreeable. Bleeding piles may be relieved 
by drinking half a tumbler of cold water, and then lying 
down for an hour. The horizontal posture should be 
maintained as much as possible, especially for ten or 
fifteen minutes after an evacuation ; this gives great re- 
lief, and favors recovery. An occasional injection of 
about half a pint to a pint of water up the lower bowel, 
by means of an enema apparatus, acts most beneficially 
by constricting the bloodvessel, softening the faeces, and 
obviating straining at stool. The wet compress is also 
recommended preventively, directly the first symptoms 
are noticed ; and also curatively, with the other means 
pointed out. 

57. — Protrusion of the Bowel (Prolapsus Ani). 

Causes. — This complaint is occasioned by long-con- 
tinued constipation or diarrhoea, purgatives, straining at 
stool, the irritation of worms, laxity and delicacy of con- 
stitution, or like causes. Although not confined to 
children, it is most frequent in them. 

Treatment. — Ignatia. — This remedy is often specific 
and sufficient, and is generally the first to be used. A 
dose thrice daily, for two or three days ; afterward morn- 
ing and night. 

Podophyllum. — Bowel comes down with stool. 

Mercurius. — Itching, discharge of yellowish mucus, 
diarrhoea, and hard swollen abdomen. 

Lycopodium. — Obstinate cases, and when other reme- 
dies only partially cure. 

Accessory Means. — When the bowel protrudes, it 
should be reduced by placing the child across the lap, 
and making pressure on the protruded part with the 
fingers, previously lubricated with oil, and carried be- 



170 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 

yond the contracting ring of the muscle around the 
anus. Bathing the parts with cold water every morn- 
ing, and injections of water are useful. The action of 
the bowel in the evening, just before going to bed, should 
be encouraged, or the child should lie down on its back 
for half an hour, with the legs raised after each motion. 
A soft pad of lint, kept on the anus by a bandage, will 
facilitate cure. The diet should be wholesome and un- 
stimulating. A weak dilution of Calendula will relieve 
soreness. 

58. — Biliousness. 

What are popularly called " bilious attacks," and sup- 
posed to be due to derangements of the liver, are almost 
invariably symptoms arising from and common to indi- 
gestion, such as furred tongue, vomiting of bile, giddi- 
ness, sick-headache, etc. One of the following remedies, 
according to the particular symptoms, with a restricted 
diet for twenty-four hours, and cold water ad libitum, 
will usually suffice to cure an attack : Nux vom., Puis., 
Iris, Pod., Bry., Merc. 

Natrum sulph. — Excess of bile ; bitter taste, flatulence, 
vomiting of bitter fluid ; morning diarrhoea. 

Iris. — Headache, vomiting and diarrhoea. 

Nux vomica. — When the pains are as if a nail were 
driven through the head; giddiness, confusion and 
fkintness ; worse in the open air. 

Pulsatilla.— One-sided pains; better in the open air 
and from compressure. 

Administration. — Dissolve the selected remedy in 
water, and take a teaspoonful every half hour until 
better. Lemonade is frequently a grateful beverage in 
this condition. 



JAUNDICE. 171 

The whole section on " Indigestion " should be con- 
sulted. 

59. — Jaundice {Icterus). 

Symptoms. — Yellow tinge of the white of the eyes and 
skin ; the perspirations staining the linen ; bitter taste ; 
light or clay-like motions. Constipation or, especially 
in children, diarrhoea ; scanty and high-colored urine, 
staining the linen yellow, depositing thick sediment; 
slow pulse; dejection of spirits; and, often, febrile 
symptoms. 

When there is an obstruction from a gall-stone the 
sufferings are most acute ; the pains come on in par- 
oxysms, often with vomiting and hiccough. 

Causes. — Interruption of the biliary functions, or 
obstruction to the elimination of bile, so that it again 
enters the circulation. The condition may be due to 
the impaction of a gall-stone, organic disease of the 
liver, atmospheric changes, unrestrained fits of passion, 
dietetic errors, dissipation, etc. 

Treatment. — Mercurius. — This is a valuable remedy, 
especially after the inflammatory symptoms have been 
modified by Aeon. A dose every three or four hours. 

China. — This is preferable for patients who have been 
drugged by allopathic doses of Mercury, and when due 
to gall-stones. 

Chamomilla. — Jaundice in passionate or fretful pa- 
tients, especially children. 

Nux vomica. — Jaundice, with costiveness, sensitive- 
ness in the region of the liver, and connected with sed 
entary habits or indulgence in alcohol. This medicine 
following Merc, will give relief to all cases that are not 
caused by organic disease or gall-stone. 



172 DISEASES OF THE URINAKY SYSTEM. 

Other remedies are often necessary, but domestic 
treatment should never be trusted to when professional 
treatment can be obtained. 

Accessory Means. — Cold water, to appease thirst; 
extract of meat, toasted bread, scalded with hot sweet- 
ened water and a little sugar ; roasted apples. Flannel, 
wrung out of hot water, relieves pain. 



CHAPTER VII. 
DISEASES OF THE URINARY SYSTEM. 



60. — Difficulty in Urinating (Strangury). 

This condition often arises from causes similar to 
those which produce incontinence of urine, and requires 
nearly the same remedies. It is a symptom of many 
diseases, is often extremely painful, and life may even 
be jeopardized. The treatment should, therefore, if 
possible, be confided to a homoeopathic physician. 

Tkeatment. — Aconitum. — Inflammatory symptoms, 
often in alternation with some other remedy. 

Camphor. — Spasm at the neck of the bladder, espe- 
cially if caused by Cantharides ; a drop on a piece of 
loaf-sugar every fifteen minutes for three or four times. 

Cantharis. — Urging, with cutting pains. 

Nux vomica. — Painful ineffectual urging, from the use 
of wine or spirits, spasmodic stricture. 

Mullein oil. — Constant urging with burning. Give 
drop doses every hour until relieved. 

Arnica. — Retention from a blow or fall, or other 
mechanical injury, or from the irritation of calculi. 



INCONTINENCE OF URINE. 173 

Accessory Means. — The introduction of the catheter, 
so often resorted to under old school treatment, is fre- 
quently superseded by our more efficient remedies; 
still it may be necessary in some cases, and requires 
professional skill. External applications — warm baths, 
hot or cold cloths, fomentations and injections — greatly 
aid the action of the medicines. Relief may often be 
obtained by directing the patient to step suddenly, with 
naked feet, on to the cold floor, or into cold water ; or a 
sponge, saturated with cold water, may be suddenly ap- 
plied over the region of the bladder. A simple and 
often successful method is to plunge the hands deeply 
into cold water, and move them about, as in the act of 
washing. The diet must be sparing, and in severe cases 
restricted to demulcent drinks, such as gum- water, bar- ' 
ley-water and gruel. 

61. — Incontinence of Urine (Enuresis). 

In this disease there may be partial or entire loss of 
power to retain the urine in the bladder, with frequent 
urging. The muscular fibers of the bladder are over- 
strained and lose their expulsive power, so that the 
bladder remains filled and overflows in constant drib- 
bling. 

Causes. — Paralysis of the muscular fibers which sur- 
round the neck of the bladder, from injuries, tedious 
and protracted labors, the pressure of tumors, calcu- 
lous deposits, syphilitic diseases, the irritation of 
worms, etc. 

Treatment. — Cantharis. — Acute inflammation of 
the urinary organs, with irresistible desire to urinate, 
and discharge of only a few drops of bloody, acrid 
urine. 



174 DISEASES OF THE UKINARY SYSTEM. 

Gelsemium. — Involuntary urination from a relaxed or 
paralytic condition of the neck of the bladder. 

Ferrum phos. — Incontinence during the day. 

Nux vomica. — Urine retained with difficulty or passed 
involuntarily, from irritability consequent on the use 
of alcohol. 

Aeon., Bell., Cole., Caust, Lye. and Sulph. are addi- 
tional remedies in our list often required. 

62. — Wetting the Bed (Enuresis Nocturnd). 

Causes. — Irritation of worms ; too large a quantity 
of fluids, especially if taken warm and in the evening ; 
improper food or drink, giving rise to acrid urine; con- 
stitutional weakness. The cause is often obscure, and 
generally requires professional treatment. 

Treatment. — Cina. — Enuresis from worms. 

Belladonna. — Irritability of the urinary organs, with- 
out any irritating property in the urine, especially in 
sensitive children with too active brains. 

Sulphur. — In cases of long standing give a dose once a 
day for a week ; then stop one week, and again com- 
mence with the remedy. 

Mullein oil has been found a very efficient remedy in 
this complaint, and may be tried in obstinate cases. 
See the previous section. 

Accessory Means. — All sharp, salty and sour articles, 
malt liquors, spirits, tea and coffee should be avoided. 
Meat in moderate quantities, but little fruit and no 
flatulent food. Milk and water, or cocoa, may be taken 
in the morning, but nothing hot toward evening. Cold 
water and mucilaginous drinks may be taken in mod- 
eration, as they diminish the sharpness of the urine. 
The patient should sleep on a hard mattress with light 



ELEEDING FROM THE URINARY ORGANS. 175 

'covering, take exercise in the open air, and have shower- 
baths or daily ablutions with cold water. The whole 
process of ablution, including drying with a large towel, 
should not occupy more than five or six minutes. The 
bladder should be invariably emptied before getting 
into bed, and sleep after w r aking up in the morning 
should not be indulged in. 

63. — Bleeding from the Urinary Organs 

(Heematurid). 

The source of the hemorrhage may be the kidneys, 
the bladder, the prostate gland or the urethra. 

Causes. — Hemorrhage from the kidneys may be due 
to the irritation of renal calculi, blows on the loins, con- 
gestion resulting from scarlet fever, inflammation, and 
such diseases as typhus, scurvy, etc. Hemorrhage from 
the prostate gland, bladder or urethra may be caused 
by the introduction of instruments, the irritation of 
stone, venereal disease, abuse of Spanish fly, or by the 
existence of an ulcer or tumor, of wdiich, indeed, it is 
often the first manifestation. 

Diagnosis. — Hemorrhage from the bladder may be 
recognized by the discharge taking place principally 
after the escape of urine ; and the quantity is also 
greater, and often the clots are larger and more irregular 
than when derived from the kidneys; the severe pain 
in the lumbar region, the intimate admixture of the 
blood w r ith the urine and other symptoms that ac- 
company the bleeding from the kidney are not present. 

Treatment. — Cantharis. — Discharge of pure blood in 
drops, or copiously blended w r ith the urine, especially 
when associated with difficulty in passing w r ater ? scald- 
ing urine and spasmodic pains. 



176 DISEASES OF THE URINARY SYSTEM. 

Camphor. — Hematuria from the use of Spanish fly 
(Cantharis), as in allopathic treatment. 

Arnica. — Hemorrhage from external violence, strains 
or severe efforts. If the patient be robust, and inflam- 
matory symptoms predominate, in alternation with 
Aeon. A dose every hour at first ; afterward Arnica only, 
every four hours. 

Accessory Means. — Demulcent drinks — linseed-tea, 
gum-water, etc. — may be taken in considerable quanti- 
ties. The wet compress over the loins when the hemor- 
rhage proceeds from the kidneys, or over the whole region 
of the bladder, when the bleeding proceeds from that 
organ, will mitigate the pain and hasten the cure. 

64. — Spermatorrhoea — Involuntary Emissions. 

In the early editions of this Manual, the subject 
of this section has been incidentally mentioned under 
one or two medicines in the materia medica ; and since 
the first edition was published, the author has been 
consulted by many hundred persons, in various parts 
of the country, suffering from seminal weakness, prov- 
ing that the evils of this affection are widespread as 
well as serious. The author's practice and correspondence 
with patients lead him to conclude that the disease is 
much overlooked or underrated by medical men gener- 
ally, although, probably, in some cases his treatment 
has been adopted from an indisposition to refer per- 
sonally to a medical man in the patient's neighborhood 
on such a subject. 

Causes. — The discharge alluded to generally occurs as 
the result of a bad habit — self-abuse — either accidentally 
acquired or learned from associates, especially in schools, 
and continued under the influence of a morbid imagina- 



SPERMATORRHOEA. 177 

tion, and often in ignorance of the consequences of the 
vicious practice. Other causes may be an unhealthy 
condition of the urethra, or of the rectum ; a too long or 
narrow prepuce, causing irritation from the retention 
of the secretions ; sexual excesses ; frequent excitation 
of the sexual passion ; irritation from worms, piles, or 
excessive horse-exercise ; disease of the brain or spinal 
marrow, etc. 

Effects. — The effects of spermatorrhoea are depres- 
sion of spirits, often very marked; loss or weakness 
of memory and of the senses ; indigestion with oppres- 
sion after food, flatulence, constipation, headache, etc. ; 
sunken eyes and loss of the healthy tints of the lids and 
face, the patient looking older than his years. When 
indulgence in the habit has been long-continued, the 
effects, which need not be here particularized, are more 
serious and general. Happily a course of judicious 
treatment is sufficient in nearly every case to effect a 
cure. 

Treatment. — The treatment, both medical and hy- 
gienic, must be varied in almost every instance, and 
include all available methods for establishing the con- 
stitutional strength, soothing local excitement and irri- 
tability, and forming healthy habits both of the mind 
and body. 

No treatment can be successful unless the bad habit be 
utterly relinquished. 

The medical treatment involves the administration 
of homoeopathic remedies (only two or three are de- 
scribed in this work — China, Phosphorus, etc.), the se- 
lection and the doses of which can only be determined 
by the local and general symptoms of individual cases. 
An important feature in the medical treatment should 
12 



178 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 

be the correction of any concurrent affection from which 
the patient may suffer. 

The hygienic treatment involves influences of wide ex- 
tent, and embraces the commercial, social and moral 
relationships of the patient, occupation, recreation, 
books, meals, sleep, bathing and mental and moral 
discipline. The management of these several points 
must be regulated according to the exigencies of each 
case, and involves details which cannot be described 
here. Under no circumstances whatever should the 
patient read or consult the treatises advertised in the 
newspapers or consult those advertising quacks. With- 
out any exception, they play upon the fears of the patient, 
and always do harm. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
DISEASES OF WOMEK 



65. — Menstrual Disorders. 

The first menstruation generally sets in about the four- 
teenth year, but it may appear later, sometimes earlier. 
There' are frequently premonitory symptoms, such as 
headache, flushed face, pains in back and lower part of 
abdomen, languor, irritability and pains in the breasts. 
For such symptoms it is well to give a few doses of Pul- 
satilla three times a day, and, after a few days, follow it 
up with two doses a day of Calcar. phos. Keep this up 
for several weeks until the function is regularly estab- 
lished. After its establishment, great care must be 
taken to prevent either cessation of the flow from cold 



PROFUSE MENSTRUATION. 179 

or an excess of it from too stimulating food, late hours 
or excitements. Warm clothes, and especially warm 
shoes and stockings, are of primary importance in es- 
tablishing the monthly flow and in preventing its sup- 
pression. 

Suppressed menstruation, when due to cold or sudden 
shock of an acute disease or mental emotion, is gener- 
ally relieved by a warm hip-bath, taken at bedtime, or 
a warm foot-bath, to which a little mustard has been 
added, and taking internally Aeon, and Puis. Take 
six pellets alternately every two hours. Quite obsti- 
nate cases of suppression of menses are met with on 
change of residence from inland to the seaside, also in 
chronic weakness, incipient consumption, etc. For the 
latter condition Calcar. phos., a dose three times a day, 
will prove of much benefit. 

Painful menstruation. — More or less pain at tho 
monthly period is very common in unmarried women, 
but homoeopathic remedies will relieve most cases when 
not due to organic troubles, which is rare. Use no local 
treatment, but use the remedies, together with rest at the 
time, and warm applications to abdomen. A hot water 
bag to the back often gives wonderful relief. Magnes. 
phos. is the first remedy, and should be taken in hot 
water, a dose every hour or more frequently when pain 
is severe and spasmodic. 

Pulsatilla is the remedy for painful and scanty menses, 
especially in mild-tempered, blonde girls, and patients 
who are always chilly, yet feel better in the open air- 
During the interval between the menses Calcarea pAo.^ 
should be taken morning and evening. 

Profuse menstruation may arise from weakness of tho 
system, overexertion near the time of the month, late 



180 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 

hours, etc. Avoid rich foods or stimulants, and rest im- 
mediately before and during illness. China should be 
taken if the discharge is dark and there are faintness 
and weakness. Ipecac, when there are nausea and sick- 
ness, blood bright. During the flow, no hot drinks 
should be taken — cool lemonade is the best. During 
the intervals take a dose of Ferrum phos. in the morning, 
and a dose of Calcar. phos. at bedtime, "which will often 
correct the tendency to profuse and long-lasting men- 
struation. 

Sabina. — Painful and profuse menses. 

Hemorrhage from the Womb — Flooding (Metrorrhagia). 
— This may occur under various conditions, many of 
which are of such an intricate character as to be quite 
unintelligible to non-professional readers ; indeed, it 
would require a considerable treatise to describe the 
various functional and organic derangements of the 
womb, of which hemorrhage is but a symptom. We 
shall therefore only suggest measures likely to be im- 
mediately beneficial until medical aid can be obtained. 

Treatment. — Aconitum. — At the commencement of 
the discharge, or when the first symptoms appear, when 
there are excitement, palpitation, anxiety and restless- 
ness, etc., especially in full-blooded patients. A dose 
every hour for several times. 

Ipecacuanha. — Flooding of bright-red blood with 
nausea. 

Secale. — Painful, dark, and offensive discharge, which 
is increased by movement or coughing ; pale face, cold- 
ness of the extremities, extreme weakness. 

Arnica. — When the hemorrhage follows a fall, strain, 
misstep, overexertion, or other mechanical injury. 

Additional Remedies. — Sab. } Croc, Ham. 



LEUCORRHCEA. 181 

Accessory Means. — The^ patient should lie down 
quietly on a hard mattress, with the shoulders low and 
the hips raised, and move as little as possible ; the mind 
should be kept calm, and order and quietness main- 
tained in the apartment. In urgent cases, hot water 
(120° F.) should be injected into the vagina. This is 
superior to cold water or ice as a stayer of bleeding, and 
it does not deprive the patient of strength as the appli- 
cation of cold does. Should, however, there be no hot 
water immediately at hand, cold water must be injected, 
or pieces of ice introduced into the womb, or pushed 
up the rectum. 

Leucorrhoea, or " the whites," is due to general weak- 
ness more than any other cause in young women. An 
inactive life, indolent habits, late hours, imprudence in 
dress, too stimulating food, habitual constipation, etc., 
all tend to produce this condition. Avoiding these and 
leading a rational, useful life, not self-centered, with 
plain food, sufficient exercise in the open air, and 
avoiding, in the case of young unmarried women, all 
local treatment, except such as cleanliness requires, and 
relying on homoeopathic remedies, will generally cure 
the disorder. 

Among the most useful medicines are the following : 
Calcarea, especially in weakly, sluggish women in whom 
the monthly flow is copious and too frequent, or if it 
is attended with severe itching. Take a dose at bed- 
time. 

Sepia, especially for delicate individuals, or if the 
discharge is acrid or corrosive. 

Pulsatilla, two doses daily, if the discharge is thick 
and the patient is of mild disposition, tearful, chilly, 
and still feels best in the open air. In married women, 



182 DISEASES OF WOMEN. 

leucorrhcea is frequently the result of other causes, and 
needs the attention of a physician. 

Change of life takes place usually between the ages 
of 40 and 50 ; it may be a question of a few months ; 
more commonly, however, it may linger several years. 
In women who have led a natural life, been married 
and borne children, and who have not interfered with 
nature's methods, there is, as a rule, no disturbance 
of any kind ; but more frequently, however, it gives 
rise to much discomfort, anxiety, palpitation, flushes of 
heat, unusual perspirations, fidgetiness, and even more 
serious troubles, mental and physical. The first symp- 
toms of the change are irregularity in the appear- 
ance of the menses, and abnormality in its character. 
The patient may pass several months and then have a 
flowing spell that may be most profuse. Sometimes, 
besides the usual symptoms above mentioned, there is 
a sense of fullness of the abdomen which leads some 
women to believe that they are pregnant, but it is only 
another of the numerous nervous disturbances peculiar 
to this period. A good deal can be done with remedies. 

Treatment. — Lachesis is the most frequently in- 
dicated remedy, especially for the flushes, palpitation 
and general condition. It is well to take a dose of this 
remedy two or three times a week for several months. 

Kali fhos. may be taken after Lachesis in the same 
way. Avoid all stimulants and narcotics. The tem- 
porary relief they afford is delusive. Avoid overeating 
as well, which is a common failing at this time. 

Belladonna will greatly relieve the flushes and head- 
aches. 

Morning sickness of pregnancy occurs during the first 
three months, but sometimes even during the entire 



SUPPRESSED SECRETION OF MILK. 183 

pregnant state. Strict attention should be paid to diet. 
Light and nourishing food, taken frequently in rather 
small quantities, and cold effervescing water and cham- 
pagne may be required for extreme vomiting. Milk 
and lime-water, kumyss, popped corn or a little salt fish 
will often be beneficial remedies. 

Ipecacuanha when there are much nausea, loose 
bowels and cough. 

Nux vomica in bilious patients with constipated 
bowels. 

Arsenicum when patient is greatly prostrated. A dose 
should be taken every two hours in severe cases, in milder 
forms two or three times daily. 

Sore nipples are often due to a naturally tender state 
of the skin, or the too frequent nursing of a child af- 
fected with thrush. Perfect cleanliness is absolutely 
necessary. Applying arnicated water, made by dissolv- 
ing ten drops of homoeopathic tincture of Arnica in a 
teacup of water, immediately after nursing, and taking 
a dose of Arnica pellets internally every three hours, will 
cure the milder forms. A nipple shield will have to be 
worn if the fissures should be severe In the latter 
case give Silicea, morning and evening. 

Inflammation of the breast may result from cold, or 
excess of milk, due to the fact that it is not drawn off 
at regular intervals. Great care is required to guard 
against the influence of draughts and external injuries. 
Should there be feverishness, give a few doses of Aeon. 
half an hour apart, and soon follow it up with Bryon., a 
dose every two hours, should there be any pain or lumps 
forming " caked breast." Always consult your physician 
in any disturbance of the lying-in period. 

Suppressed secretion of milk may be caused by chill, 



184 DISEASES OF THE CUTANEOUS SYSTEM 

mental shock or weakness. It should be remedied at 
once. The breast should be fomented with warm flan- 
nels and rubbed with sweet oil afterward. Give Aconite 
and Pulsatilla, a dose every hour alternately. 

Excessive secretion of milk may be due either to 
weakness or exuberance of strength. Regulate the diet 
and treatment accordingly. The full habit requires a 
moderate diet, but little liquid food — the weakly re- 
quires generous living. In the latter case give China, 
especially if there be much perspiration, disturbed 
digestion, and tendency to diarrhoea 

Calcarea phos. may be given in either case, a dose 
three times a day. 

Suppression of the lochia may be due to cold, getting 
up too soon or inflammation. Hot fomentation should 
be applied to the lower abdomen, and warm vaginal in- 
jection should be given, also a few doses of Aconite, until 
the physician can be summoned. If the flow is begin- 
ning to be re-established, give Pulsatilla every two hours 
until all untoward symptoms have been removed. 



CHAPTER IX. 
DISEASES OF THE CUTANEOUS SYSTEM 



66. — Nettlerash (Urticaria). 

Symptoms. — Prominent, round or oval elongated 
patches or wheals of the skin, resembling those pro- 
duced by nettle-stings. They appear and disappear 
suddenly, are easily excited by scratching or exposure 
to cold, and cause severe heat and itching. The eleva- 



ITCHING OF THE SKIN. 185 

tions contain no fluid, and do not end in scaling of the 
skin. It is not contagious, and may trouble the same 
patient repeatedly. Chronic urticaria is very rebellious 
against treatment, unless the cause be detected and 
removed. 

Treatment. — Apis. — Urticaria, with stinging or burn- 
ing itching, and much swelling. 

Pulsatilla. — If indigestion or dysmenorrhcea is present. 

Antimonium crud. — From gastric disturbances. 

Dulcamara. — From cold, with much stinging. 

Rhus tox. — From eating shell-fish, etc. ; worse in bed ; 
rheumatic patients. 

Aconitum. — ^Vith feverishness. 

Calcarea. — Chronic nettlerash, especially in scrofulous 
patients. Also Sulph., the irritation coming on chiefly 
at night. 

General Treatment. — Bathe all over with warm 
water into which a little carbolic acid has been dis- 
solved, sufficient to give it some odor, then dry, and 
powder all over with corn-starch. Smearing with bacon 
fat gives great relief. A milk diet, and no stimulants. 

Preventives. — A dry, uniform and moderate tem- 
perature, plain food, exercise in the open air, cold or 
tepid bathing, and great cleanliness. As the use of 
flannel may be an exciting cause, by the irritation it 
produces, it should never be worn by such patients 
next to the skin. 

Avoid shell-fish. 

67. — Itching of the Skin (Prurigo). 

This condition consists of an eruption sometimes 
nearly imperceptible, which occasions the irritation. 
Causes. — Rich, indigestible food, stimulating drinks, 



186 DISEASES OF THE CUTANEOUS SYSTEM. 

extreme heat or cold, a constitutional taint, chronic dis- 
ease, etc. 

Treatment. — Sulphur. — Severe itching, with dryness 
of the skin, worse in the evening, in warmth and in bed. 
A dose twice or thrice daily. 

Carbo veg. — When Sulph. only partially cures. 

Aconitum. — Feverish heat, redness of the skin, thirst ; 
symptoms worse at night. 

Rhus tox. — Itching and redness, with swelling and 
tingling. 

Arsenicum. — Itching, with burning, or an eruption 
emitting a small drop of watery fluid ; chronic cases 
with constitutional feebleness. 

Gale, Merc, Hepar and Puis, are also remedies in 
our list sometimes required. 

Accessory Measures. — Medicated ointments should 
not be used, as they might transfer the disease from the 
skin to some internal organ, where it would become far 
more serious. In severe cases, temporary relief may be 
obtained by bathing the parts with alcohol and water, 
in equal proportions, or sponging the skin with a warm 
infusion made by pouring boiling water on bran. Very 
troublesome prurigo is much benefited by a warm bath 
(p. 59), which is both soothing and curative; it should 
be taken in the evening or when the patient has not 
to be again exposed to atmospheric changes, and fol- 
lowed next morning by the wet sheet squeezed out of 
cold or tepid water, rapid drying, and friction. If the 
irritation or eruption be limited, the use of a wet com- 
press over the parts will also be beneficial, although at 
first it may increase the irritation. Scratching must be 
avoided. The skin should be strengthened by daily ab- 
lutions with cold or tepid water — sponging, shower- 



RINGWORM. 187 

baths, etc. — also by regular exercise in a bracing air. 
Stimulating food and drink, pastry and other indigest- 
ible diet must be avoided; also irregular hours of 
meals. Look to the condition of the bowels and avoid 
constipation. Without good hygienic measures, medi- 
cines will be of little permanent utility. 

68. — Ringworm (Herpes Circinnatus). 

Symptoms. — Small round vesicles, filled with clear or 
yellow fluid, on the head, at the roots of the hair, and 
on various parts of the skin. The rings or patches vary 
in size from a quarter to that of a dollar. There is 
much itching, and in old standing cases the whole 
scalp rnay be implicated; but the general health is 
rarely disturbed. 

Causes. — It is an epidemic affection, readily commu- 
nicated by the touch ; and ill-health, poor food, dark, 
badly ventilated dwellings, etc., favor its spread and 
activity 

Treatment. — Internal — Sepia.— This is usually the 
only remedy required. Take a dose night and morning. 

Local. — -Cut short the hair and wash well with soap 
and water. Apply a little cod-liver oil to the spots 
night and morning, rubbing it in gently with the finger. 
Afterward, if this is not sufficient, the local applica- 
tion of Sulphurous acid, Carbolic acid, or Oleate of Mer- 
cury will destroy the parasite which causes the eruption. 

General Treatment. — Cleanliness and change of air 
are of great importance. The patient's towels, hair- 
brushes, combs, sponges, etc., should on no account be 
used by those unaffected. The hair and head should 
be well brushed so as to excite the vital action of the 
skin by the friction. A nutritious diet is recom- 



188 DISEASES OF THE CUTANEOUS SYSTEM. 

mended; also an occasional tepid bath. Scrofulous, 
emaciated children may require a teaspoonful of cod- 
liver oil twice a day. Sudden and extreme changes of 
temperature should be avoided. Popular remedies — 
ink, tobacco-water, etc. — are dangerous. 

69. — Shingles (Herpes). 

Symptoms. — An eruption of vesicles on an inflamed 
patch of integument, accompanied with a burning, 
tingling sensation, and occasionally severe neuralgic 
pains. Neuralgia may precede or follow the eruption 
as well as accompany it. It is usually found in a half- 
circle around the waist or chest. 

Treatment. — Rhus. — In recent cases, much burning 
in the vesicles. 

Arsenicum. — More chronic cases, and in debilitated 
persons. Dose: Six globules of the selected remedy 
may be given three times a day. 

It is a good plan to paint the eruption over with collo- 
dion, or powder with corn-starch. 

70. — Chilblains (Perniones). 

Chilblains are due to a languid circulation of the 
blood, and consist of a low kind of inflammation of the 
skin, generally of the hands or feet, and are attended 
with itching, tingling, burning, swelling, and sometimes 
ulceration. 

Chapped Hands. — This affection consists of slight 
inflammation of the skin of the back of the hands, 
which become cracked or "chapped." It occurs in 
frosty weather, when it sometimes gives rise to much 
inconvenience and pain. It requires similar external 
treatment to chilblains. 



CHILBLAINS. 189 

Causes. — Exposure to cold, damp, or to sudden 
changes of temperature ; feeble circulation. 

Treatment. — Tamus communis, in nearly all cases 5 
either removes the disease or affords material relief. 
Unbroken chilblains should be painted morning and night 
with the strong tincture of Tamus, or it may be used as 
a lotion. Should the skin be broken or ulcers exist, 
Calendula should be substituted for Tamus, and applied 
as a lotion, or in the form of cerate. Carbolic acid and 
oil (one part of the former to six of the latter) ; Arnica 
and soap liniment (one part of strong tincture of the 
former to eight of the latter) are also efficacious. In- 
ternal treatment is generally required for chilblains. 

Arnica. — Hard, shining skin; pain and itching of 
the parts. 

Belladonna. — Inflammation, pulsative pains, fiery red- 
ness, and swelling. 

Arsenicum. — Burning pain, accompanied by ulceration, 
especially in emaciated children. 

Sulphur. — Chilblains of a blue-red color, with itching, 
aggravated by warmth. Also to remove the constitu- 
tional tendency. 

Accessory Means. — For ulceration, poultices or other 
mild applications should be applied until relieved. 
Pork, salted meats, and all irritating or indigestible 
articles of food should be excluded from the dietary. 
Extremes of temperature are to be avoided, such as a 
cold stone floor, and warming the feet on a fender, or 
the hands close to the fire. After washing them, the 
hands should be well dried. The soreness of chapped 
hands may be much mitigated by wrapping them in a 
water-bandage and covering them with oil silk on re- 
tiring to bed. 



190 DISEASES OF THE CUTANEOUS SYSTEM. 

71. — Ulcer ( Ulcus) — Sores. 

Ulcers may arise from burns, bruises, inflammation, 
varicose veins, or constitutional disturbance. They 
require careful management, and many can only be 
successfully treated by a homoeopathic practitioner. 

Treatment. — Kali bich. — Ulcers on the leg, deep, with 
hard bases and overhanging edges. 

Belladonna. — Painful ulcers, having an erysipelatous 
blush. 

Arsenicum. — Ulcers with burning pain, easily discharg- 
ing blood or thin matter, and presenting a livid appear- 
ance. 

Carbo veg. may follow, or be alternated with, Ars. if 
the ulcer have an offensive smell. 

Silicea. — Simple ulcers. Ulceration following abra- 
sion of skin. 

Hepar sulph. or Sulphur may also be required. 

General Treatment. — A little soft linen or lint, 
wetted in cold water, placed on the sore, covered with 
oil silk, and lightly bound up with a bandage ; or Ca- 
lendula lotion in the same manner. Ulcers on the legs 
require rest, the horizontal posture, and constitutional 
treatment. Open-air exercise should be taken, especially 
during recovery; but much standing, or sitting with the 
legs hanging down, is unfavorable. Among dispensary 
patients, we find ulcers on the legs very intractable, as 
the necessary rest and general hygienic conditions can- 
not be observed. 

72. — Boil (Furunculus). 
An inflamed, pointed tumor, painful or tender, of a 
deep-red color, terminating in suppuration. Boils gen- 



WHITLOW. 191 

erally indicate a disordered condition of the blood, as 
the result of insufficient, poor, or indigestible food, 
anxiety, insufficient test, etc. 

Treatment. — Belladonna. — An excellent remedy for 
arresting a boil in its early stages, before matter has 
formed ; it also relieves the pain. 

Hepar sulph. — Pain of a pulsative character, indica- 
tive of suppuration, which it promotes. 

Silicea. — Indolent boils. 

Sulphur. — To prevent a. recurrence of boils. 

General Treatment. — As soon as Hepar is indi- 
cated, a poultice, covered with oiled silk and one or two 
thicknesses of flannel, should be applied. The poultice 
should be kept hot and renewed until suppuration is 
nearly completed, when a wet compress should be sub- 
stituted. To prevent a recurrence of boils, attention 
must be directed to their causes. If from derangement 
of the digestive organs, seasoned dishes, pastry, sweet- 
meats, etc., should be avoided, and a generous diet, 
including animal food once a day, should be adopted. 
Proper food, daily bathing, and recreation in the open 
air will go far toward eradicating a predisposition to 
boils. In obstinate cases, change of air is exceedingly 
beneficial 

73— Whitlow (Panaris). 

This is an inflammatory swelling at end of the finger, 
with a tendency to suppuration. 

Causes. — Cutting the nail to the quick; a bruise, 
burn, or other mechanical injury ; the introduction of 
poisonous or acrid matter into scratches on the finger ; 
unhealthy constitution. 

Treatment. — Silicea. — The first and often the best 



192 DISEASES OF THE CUTANEOUS SYSTEM. 

remedy for whitlow ; administered early, it often pre- 
vents its maturation. If necessary, a warm bread-and- 
milk poultice may be applied, anil the finger held in a 
raised posture. 

Aconitum and Belladonna, in alternation, every three 
hours, if there be much pain, redness, throbbing, thirst, 
restlessness, etc. 

Helpar sulph. — During suppuration. 

Poultices and general treatment as for boils. 

74.— Corn (Clavus). 

Causes. — Long-continued pressure or friction, or both 
combined. 

Treatment. — If medical treatment be required, one 
of the following may be chosen: Calcarea, Sulphur, 
Silicea. A dose morning and night, for a week or ten 
days. After waiting a few days, if necessary, the same 
or another remedy may be administered. 

Accessory Means. — Corns can only be eradicated by 
wearing easily fitting boots and shoes, frequently wash- 
ing the feet and changing the stockings. As soon as a 
corn appears, the surrounding skin should be softened 
by a warm foot-bath, the hard head of the corn gently 
extracted with the finger-nail, or some convenient 
instrument, and the thickened skin pared off with a 
sharp knife; the corn should then be dressed with 
Arnica lotion (thirty drops to a wine-glassful of water), 
and next morning a piece of Arnica plaster, or an Arni- 
cated corn-plaster, having a hole punched through its 
center, applied. The dressing may be repeated until 
the inconvenience is removed. 



PALPITATION OF THE HEART. 193 

75. — Warts (Verrucx). 

Treatment. — Thuja. — The warts should be painted 
once or twice daily with the mother tincture; at the 
same time a dilution of the same medicine may be 
taken internally, morning and night ; it is especially 
necessary when the warts appear in crops. This course 
may be followed for a week or ten days; and if improve- 
ment ensues, as it often does, the treatment should 
be continued longer. When Thuja does not succeed, 
Rhux tox, may be used internally, a dose morning and 
night. 

Sulphur y once a day for a week or two, is an excellent 
remedy for numerous and obstinate warts upon the 
hands. It is also useful after other medicines and as a 
preventive. 



CHAPTEK X. 
UNCLASSIFIED DISEASES. 



76. — Palpitation of the Heart (Palpitatio Cordis). 

Is a normal condition we are scarcely sensible of the 
heart's beat; when, however, its pulsations become 
much increased in force and frequency, the unpleasant 
sensation known as palpitation is experienced. 

Causes. — Predisposing — Nervous temperament ; hys- 
teria ; a full habit ; diseases of the heart. Exciting — 
Excessive joy, long-continued anxiety, fear, or other 
mental emotions ; severe exertion ; the excessive use of 
tea, coffee and other stimulants; profuse discharges: 
menstrual derangements, etc 
13 



194 UNCLASSIFIED DISEASES. 

Treatment. — The following is only for simple cases. 
If possible, palpitation should be treated by a physi- 
cian. 

Aconitum. — From excitement, with anxiety, coldness, 
numb extremities, or a sensation as if the heart ceased 
to beat; short, hurried breathing; hot and flushed face ; 
and in plethoric patients. 

Belladonna. — Oppression, tremor, palpitation extend- 
ing to the neck and head ; congested face 

Gelsemium. — Nervous palpitation. 

Spigelia. — Palpitation with pain at the heart. 

Ignatia. — When caused by grief or anxiety ; nervous 
headache; hysteria. 

Coffea. — Wakefulness and nervous restlessness ; palpi- 
tation from joyful excitement. 

Chamomilla. — Palpitation from passion. 

Opium. — From fright, with drowsiness, etc. 

China. — After loss of animal fluids — blood, milk, 
mucous discharges. 

Pulsatilla. — Hysterical symptoms, and in females 
suffering from deranged period. 

Administration. — During an attack, a dose every 
twenty or thirty minutes; as the symptoms decline, 
or in mild cases, every six or twelve hours. 

Accessory Measures. — The causes should be avoided. 
Pure air, cold water internally and externally, moderate 
exercise, a contented disposition, and light, nourishing 
and regular diet are excellent auxiliaries. Avoid watch- 
ing the heart's action, counting the pulse, etc., and dis- 
card fear. 



HEMORRHAGES 195 

77. — Hemorrhages and Hemorrhagic Diathesis. 

By the term "hemorrhage" is meant the escape of 
blood from those vessels in which it is naturally con- 
tained, whether the discharge be external or into one of 
the internal cavities of the body. Profuse and long- 
continued hemorrhages being dangerous, and the re- 
sults often most serious, it is undesirable, except in 
emergencies, to trust to domestic treatment. In con- 
sideration, however, of the frequent suddenness of such 
occurrences, the impossibility of securing at all times 
the immediate attendance of a medical man, and the 
importance of being prepared to act promptly to afford 
temporary relief, we have devoted two or three sections 
to the immediate treatment of several forms of hemor- 
rhage. 

Hemorrhagic Diathesis. — In some patients a pre- 
disposition to hemorrhage exists which may be heredi- 
tary or acquired, and is designated the hemorrhagic 
diathesis. This condition probably consists in defective 
contractility of the arteries, which may also be fragile 
or soft from diseased processes, so being unable to resist 
the force of the circulation, especially in congestion; 
and in loss of coagulability of blood, from a defective 
or altered character of the fibrine. the chief agent in 
coagulation, and of some change in the red corpuscles. 
Hence the most trivial wound bleeds almost uncontrol- 
lably, and even life may be jeopardized, by a slight 
injury or surgical operation. As stated, the hemorrha- 
gic diathesis may not in all cases be hereditary, but 
caused by diseases of the liver, spleen, etc., which then 
exert a deleterious influence upon the constituents of 
the blood. The knowledge o£ the existence of such 



196 UNCLASSIFIED DISEASES. 

a diathesis is important, as it might materially modify 
the medical and surgical treatment of the patient. 

78. — Spitting (Haemoptysis) — Vomiting of Blood 
from Ruptured Bloodvessel (Haematemesis). 

It is not necessary here to determine whether the 
blood comes from the lungs or stomach, as the immedi- 
ate treatment should be the same in either case. It 
may be stated, however, that when blood comes from 
the lungs it is usually of a bright-red color, is discharged 
with coughing, or is hawked up, and is often frothy; 
but when from the stomach, it is of a dark color, is 
vomited, and is sometimes mixed with food. Calmness 
and judgment are especially necessary, as the discharge 
of considerable quantities of blood is otherwise likely 
to cause alarm, and disqualify for action. 

Treatment. — Aconitum. — Chiefly indicated when 
flushed face, palpitation and anguish accompany the 
hemorrhage; or for the premonitory symptoms — shiv- 
erings, quick pulse, palpitation, etc. Two drops in a 
spoonful of water, repeated in ten or fifteen minutes, 
or in one, two or three hours. See also "Accessory 
Means." 

Arnica. — Hemorrhage from a fall, a blow, or severe 
exertion. 

Ipecacuanha. — Haematemesis, with paleness of the face 
and frequent inclination to vomit ; or short cough and 
expectoration streaked with blood. 

China. — Chiefly required after hemorrhage, for remov- 
ing the consequent debility. Its chief indications are 
frequent taste of blood, shivering, flushes, dizziness, 
feeble pulse, cold hands or feet, fainting, etc. 

Ferrum phos. — Bleeding from nose in rapidly growing 
children. Bright-red blood. 



SPITTING OF BLOOD. 197 

Arsenicum. — Difficult breathing, extreme palpitation 
of the heart, anguish, burning heat and thirst, small 
and quick pulse. 

Hamamelis. — A teaspoonful of the extract may be 
diluted with a tumblerful of cold water, and spoonful 
doses given every ten minutes, alone or in alternation 
with any of the above remedies. 

Accessory Means. — The patient should immediately 
lie down on a sofa or mattress, with the head and 
shoulders elevated. All tight-fitting articles of dress 
should be removed, and the patient kept cool and quiet, 
and on no account be allowed to talk. There must be 
no crowding round him, no talking, noise or confusion ; 
and the room should be kept cool and airy, at about 55° 
F. For some time, food and wine are not admissi- 
ble, and the only drink that can be allowed is a little 
cold water or the sucking of ice. Should faintness 
occur, no alarm need be excited, as it is often nature's 
method of arresting the bleeding. After the hemor- 
rhage has ceased, the patient must still be kept cool, 
quiet and free from excitement, and the diet be light 
and unstimulating, while the position of the body should 
be such as to favor the cessation of the discharge. 
Gradually beef-tea, broth, milk and cocoa may be 
taken, but not hot. These measures are necessary to 
obviate a recurrence of the symptoms. Sometimes 
hemorrhage is vicarious, as in females, when bleeding 
from the nose or stomach takes the place of the menstrual 
discharge. In such cases the treatment should be di- 
rected to the establishment or restoration of the monthly 
period. 



198 INJURIES — ACCIDENTS. 

CHAPTER XI. 
INJURIES— ACCIDENTS. 



79.— Apnoea (from Drowning, Hanging, Suffo- 
cation by Gas, etc.). 

No time is to be lost. The two points to be aimed at 
are : First, to restore breathing ; second, circulation and 
warmth. Loosen everything about the chest and throat. 
Place the patient on his back, the head and shoulders a 
little raised by means of a coat rolled up and placed be- 

Fig. 1.— Inspiration. 




neath. The mouth should be cleansed, the tongue 
drawn forward beyond the lips, and kept in this position 
by means of a piece of tape or ribbon tied over the 
tongue and under the chin. Taking hold of both arms 
above the elbows, they should be drawn slowly and 
steadily upward above the patient's head, and kept 
stretched while counting, one, two. This is inspiration, 



APXCEA. 



199 



for by this means air is drawn into the lungs. The pa- 
tient's arms should next be turned down and pressed 
gently but firmly against the sides of the chest, count- 
ing, as before, one, two. This is expiration, or emptying 
the chest of air. These movements should be repeated 
about fifteen times in a minute, until natural breathing 
occurs. It is altogether wrong to suppose that life is 
extinct if breathing does not soon take place, persons 
haying been restored after persevering in this treatment 
for many hours. Next — not before — commence rub- 

FlG. 2.— EXPIRATION. 




Figs. 1 and 2.— To illustrate the position of the body during the employment of 
Dr. Sylvester's Method of Restoring Breathing. 

bing the limbs upward with firm pressure, using hand- 
kerchiefs or flannels, to favor the return of blood to the 
heart. Warmth may be favored by the application of 
hot flannels, hot bottles, or heated bricks wrapped round 
with flannel, or by any means at hand, to the pit of the 
stomach, the arm-pits, between the thighs, and to the 
soles of the feet Wrap the patient in a warm blanket. 
A small quantity of warm brandy and water or hot 
coffee should now be given. 



200 INJURIES ACCIDENTS. 

80. — Fainting — Insensibility. 

In all cases of insensibility, loosen the clothing round 
the neck and chest ; and if caused by an injury, the 
patient should be gently and carefully put to bed, and 
kept perfectly quiet while a doctor is sent for. 

The ordinary fainting fit is not as a rule dangerous, 
and will be caused by several things, among which may 
be mentioned " tight lacing." The patient's head should 
be pressed down between the knees and kept there for 
two or three minutes. The clothes should now be 
loosened, and all tight clothing likely to interfere with 
the free play of the chest removed. A good plan is to 
place the patient flat on the floor, the head on a level 
with the body. Bathing the face and head with cold 
water is beneficial, and a stimulant, such as coffee or 
wine, may be given. 

81. — What to do when a Dress Catches Fire. 

Place the patient on the ground in a horizontal posi- 
tion, and if necessary use force to accomplish this, since 
flames mount upward. Then take a rug, table-cloth or 
coat, and throw over the flames, pressing it w r ell down 
in all directions ; the flames are in this way easily ex- 
tinguished. If this be promptly done, the frightful 
injuries which are occasionally seen as a result of this 
accident may be altogether prevented. 

82. — Burns and Scalds. 

Severe injuries from burns or scalds, especially those 
implicating large surfaces, are very dangerous and often 
fatal. 

Treatment. — First, remove the dress ; and if any por- 



BURNS AND SCALDS. 201 

tions adhere closely to the surface of the body, do not 
tear them away, but cut around them as closely as pos- 
sible. The burned part should then be placed in warm 
(not hot) water, which will remove the adhering por- 
tions. The most important thing to be done now is to 
exclude air from the wound ; this may be accomplished 
by dusting on flour by means of the common dredger, 
or by applying gently a paste made with whiting or 
chalk. If oil be obtainable, any sort (with the excep- 
tion of mineral oils, such as paraffin) will do; the 
application of this will give immediate relief. (The best 
preparation is the "Carron oil," consisting of equal 
parts of linseed oil and lime-water.) Soak in it a piece 
of folded linen rag, and apply to the wounded surface 
so as to completely cover it ; over this place some cotton 
wool or wadding, and secure it in position by means of 
a bandage. This dressing should not be interfered with 
until the wound is healed, unless it has become fetid 
from the discharge, when it must be removed very cau- 
tiously, and a fresh dressing, prepared beforehand, ap- 
plied at once. If the wound is very serious, and the 
patient is suffering from " shock to the system," he 
should be wrapped in a blanket and kept warm, and 
medical aid at once sent for. 

If, after the dressing is finally removed, ulcers exist, 
Calendula cerate is a valuable application. 

If there be very much discharge it must be carefully 
and frequently removed, and the parts kept as clean as 
possible. 

Internal Treatment, except in the slightest cases, is 
always necessary and must be suited to the part injured, 
its extent and the constitutional symptoms present. 
As a general rule, Aconitum, given early, does good, by 



202 INJURIES ACCIDENTS. 

allaying fever, mitigating pain and moderating reaction. 
In very severy cases a little warm brandy and water are 
of service. 

83.— Frostbite. — Sunstroke, 

The aim of all treatment of frostbite is to restore the 
emulation gradually. Nothing can be more hurtful 
than bringing a person who has been frostbitten into 
a warm room immediately afterward, or placing him 
near a fire. The bad effects of this may be seen to a 
lesser degree in the production of chilblains, by hold- 
ing the hands near the fire in place of rubbing them 
briskly. Therefore the patient should be kept in a cool 
place, and the parts affected rubbed with snow or bathed 
with cold water. By this means the circulation will be 
gradually but surely restored. 

Sunstroke.— The clothing should be at once removed 
and the patient placed in the prone position, with the 
head and shoulders slightly raised. Cold water should 
then be poured, from the height of three or four feet, on 
to his head and allowed to trickle down his back. If 
an ice-bag, or bladder filled with ice, can be procured, it 
should be applied to the head. Should the patient be 
very much collapsed, a mustard plaster may be applied 
to the nape of the neck. Give Glonoin internally 

84o — Bruises (Contusions). 
The prime object should be to excite as speedily as 
possible the absorption of extravasated blood. If pos- 
sible, the injured part should be raised, and a warm 
Arnica lotion (one part of the tincture to ten of water, 
applied by means of lint saturated with the lotion, cov- 
ered with oiled silk, and secured with a bandage. If, 



WOUNDS. 203 

however, the skin be broken, Arnica must on no account 
be used, as it may induce erysipelas. Fomentations of 
hot water used immediately after the injury, and at in- 
tervals afterward, are often useful. A " black eye," or, 
as the Scotch people more appropriately say, a " blue 
eye," may generally be prevented by Arnica lotion, 
applied immediately after the injury. Hamamdis or 
Calendula should be substituted if the sufferer is sub- 
ject to erysipelas. Where the bruise is very severe, be- 
yond giving the part absolute rest, it cannot be dealt 
with satisfactorily, except by medical knowledge. 

85.— Wounds. 

Wounds of the soft parts are of four kinds — incised, 
made by clean-cutting instruments ; punctured, such as 
pricks and stabs ; lacerated, the parts being torn, and the 
lips of the wounds irregular; and contused, or bruised, 
the surface being broken. 

Treatment. — The following are the chief points: 
1st. To arrest the bleeding. In slight cases, the elevation 
of the bleeding parts, the application of cold, moderate 
pressure, and the coaptation of the edges of the wound, 
after cleaning them, will suffice. A Calendula lotion* 
will serve to arrest hemorrhage, and check suppuration. 
See, also, further on. 

2d. The removal of foreign bodies. Dirt, hair, glass, 
clots of blood, etc., should be removed by the fingers, or 
sponge and water. 

3d. To bring the injured parts nicely together. Any 
muscular fiber likely to prevent complete reunion 
should be snipped off with a pair of scissors, and after 

* See Materia Medica, Calendula. 



204 INJURIES — ACCIDENTS. 

the sides of the wound have been accurately adjusted, 
they should be kept so by strips of adhesive plaster, 
first applied to that side of the wound which is most 
movable, and then secured to the other. Very long 
strips should be used, to give as much support as 
possible to the parts. But in extensive wounds, where 
plaster would be insufficient, stitches must be employed. 

4th. To promote adhesion. To secure this, the part 
should be kept at rest, and if the injury be severe the 
patient should remain in bed. 

5th. When a wound is dressed, say once every twenty- 
four hours, a sponge or rag should be wetted with warm 
water, and laid over the dressing, so that it may be re- 
moved without the risk of disturbing the surfaces which 
may have partially united. Often the lotion may be 
renewed by removing the oiled silk only, pouring a 
little lotion on the rag or lint, and then replacing the 
oiled silk. 

6th. To control dangerous bleeding, as from a sharp- 
cutting instrument. When blood flows in a steady 
stream, and is dark-colored, it is from a vein, and can 
generally be checked by applying cold water and ex- 
posing the cut surface to the cold air. But if large 
veins be wounded they should be compressed with the 
fingers, or by a bandage. A few thicknesses of linen, 
with steady compression, are more efficient than heap- 
ing on a large quantity. When the blood is bright-red, 
and flows in jets, it is arterial, and the same means must 
be adopted as just pointed out, unless the bleeding is 
excessive, in which case a handkerchief should be tied 
round the limb, near the wound, and between it and the 
heart, a stick inserted under the handkerchief, and a 
firm compress over the course of the bloodvessel ; the 



WOUNDS. 205 

stick should then be twisted until it stops the circula- 
tion and, consequently, the bleeding (Fig. 3.) But this 
is only a temporary expedient, for wounded arteries of 
size require ligature or torsion by a surgeon before bleed- 
ing can be permanently arrested. If no surgeon can 
be obtained, a clever manipulator should grasp the 
wounded artery with a pair of forceps, and draw it 
slightly and gently forward, so that it may be securely 
tied by means of a strong ligature of silk. 




Fig. 3. 



7th, Should a wound or bruise be followed by con- 
stitutional disturbance— fever, chills and throbbing in 
\he parts — medicines should be administered. Arnica 
(as prepared for internal use) and Aconitum will gener- 
ally meet the requirements of such cases, and should be 
administered every one to three hours, in alternation, 
for several times ; Belladonna, pain and swelling of the 
injured part ; Hepar sidph,, when suppuration is estab- 
lished ; Silicea, unhealthy suppuration. 



206 INJURIES — ACCIDENTS, 

86. — Poisoned Wounds — Bites and Stings. 

The treatment consists in the prevention of the spread 
of poison through the body. This may be accomplished 
by (1) Destroying the poison at the seat of injury by 
cutting out the part. (2) Cauterizing the wound with a 
knitting-needle made red hot, or with nitrate of silver 
(caustic). (3) Tying a ligature tightly between the 
wound and the body. (4) Sucking the wound, and in 
doing so extract the poison. Before doing the last, the 
operator should be sure that his mouth and lips are 
free from fissures or cracks. If the mouth be sound 
the poison can do him no injury. 

When the wound results from a scratch with a rusty 
nail or any similar object, our first care should be to 
encourage bleeding. This may be done by sucking the 
wound, or by placing it in hot water. The wound can 
then be treated as an ordinary one (see preceding sec- 
tion). If, in spite of these precautions, the wound be- 
comes painful and throbbing, a poultice of bread or 
linseed should be applied ; and if suppuration (gather- 
ing) takes place, it should be opened with a large 
needle or penknife, and the poulticing continued. 

The stings of bees or wasps should be treated by ex- 
tracting the sting, which may often be seen in the 
wound, by pressing the open end of the tube of a small 
key over the seat of injury. Ledum is a useful local 
application. Tincture of Apis may be given internally, 
as well as applied to the injured spot. 

87. — Foreign Bodies in the Eye or Ear. 

If a particle of sand, a fly, or a hair gets under the 
upper eyelid, let the patient sit down, and, standing 



BROKEN BONES. 207 

behind him, place a pencil over the lid, take hold of the 
eyelashes, and turn the lid upward; the offending body- 
can then be removed with the corner of a handkerchief. 
If under the lower lid, turn it down, and remove in the 
same manner. If a particle of lime has got in the eye, 
care should be taken not to use water to remove it. A 
weak solution of vinegar should be used. When the 
foreign body has been removed, Aconite should be given 
every half-hour, and Calendula lotion may be applied to 
the eye on lint or soft linen. The patient should avoid 
rubbing the eye to remove a foreign body. 

In the Ear. — If any insect gains admission to the ear, 
it may be killed by pouring in a few drops of olive oil. 
If a body such as a pea, bead, etc., is the offender, a 
piece of wire, with the tip slightly bent to form a hook, 
should be introduced above the foreign body, so that it 
may be turned out easily. 

88.— Bloodshot Eye. 

Treatment. — Two or three doses of Aconitum every 
three hours, and the eye frequently bathed with tepid 
water. If from mechanical causes, and there be no 
abrasion of skin or mucous membrane, Arnica lotion 
(six drops of strong tincture to a wineglassful of water) 
may be used. Arnica may also be administered inter- 
nally. If the condition be chronic, or recur without 
mechanical injury, Arsenicum, thrice daily, should be 
administered. 

89. — Broken Bones (Fractures). 

Symptoms. — A broken bone may generally be de- 
tected by having felt it snap; there may be some 
deformity, such as bending, or shortening ; and if the 



208 



INJURIES — ACCIDENTS. 



upper end of the bone be held firmly by the hand, the 
lower part may be moved independently, and if the 
broken ends are rubbed against each other, a grating 
noise may be heard. There will further be pain and 
loss of power in the injured part. 

Causes. — Mechanical violence is the most frequent ; but 
old age, paralysis and prolonged disuse of a limb ren- 
der bones liable to break from trifling causes. 




Fig* 4. 



Treatment. — Before moving the patient, a temporary 
Splint should be adjusted in order to prevent the certain 
jolting that would occur. Anything that will give sup- 
port to the injured limb without adding much weight 
to it will do. If the fracture is in the forearm, it should 
be immediately supported by a sling, which may be 
made with a handkerchief and tied round the neck. If 
it is the leg that is injured, a roll of music or newspaper 



BROKEN BONES. 



209 



may be used to encircle the limb, or an umbrella or 
walking-stick may be placed at the side of the leg, and 
secured in position by means of three or four hand- 
kerchiefs. 

The patient should now be raised gently, the injured 
part being supported, and special care taken to prevent 
the broken bone being forced through the flesh and 
skin. He should be placed on a stretcher or litter and 




Fig. 5. 

taken to his home or to a hospital. A litter may be 
made of a couple of poles and a horse-cloth or sack ; 
even a door or hurdle may serve the purpose. Placing 
on this, and carrying by two men, is much better than 
removing him in a cart or carriage. It is important 
not to be in a hurry, as an injury is often greatly aggra- 
vated by carelessness or too hurried measures. When 
a surgeon is within a moderate distance, after making 
14 



210 INJURIES ACCIDENTS. 

the patient as comfortable as possible, it is better to 
wait for him to superintend the moving. 

If there be a wound in the skin and much bleeding, 
see " Wounds." 

When the patient has been placed on a firm bed or 
mattress and the injured part examined, the surgeon 
will bring the broken ends of the bone into close ap- 
position in their natural form, and, having done so, 
maintain them in perfect contact and at rest, till firm 
union has taken place. To maintain the proper shape 
and length of the limb, bandages, splints and various ap- 
paratus are required. Beyond the mere management 
of such accidents, however, till he arrive, only a surgeon 
can treat such cases. 

Broken Ribs require a flannel bandage about two 
hands broad round the chest, and shoulder-straps to 
keep it up. A rather tight-fitting bandage lessens the 
movement of the chest in breathing, and is a great 
comfort. 

90. — Sprain. 

Treatment. — In severe cases the chief point is to 
keep the parts at perfect rest, by means of a roller 
nicely applied, or controlling the motions of the joint 
by a splint. In simple cases the application of rags, 
saturated with Arnica or Rhus lotion and covered with a 
piece of flannel, will hasten the cure. The use of oil 
silk should be avoided as dangerous. In all cases 
Arnica or Rhus should be given internally. When the 
pain and swelling subside, the joint may be partially 
liberated, and gentle motion allowed ; but the greatest 
care must be observed for several weeks in using the 
limb, or the cure will be rendered difficult and tedious. 



FATIGUE AND OVEREXERTION. 211 

91. — Fatigue and Overexertion — Blisters. 

If the feet be swollen or blistered, or the ankles ache 
after walking, a warm foot-bath may be used, to which 
a teaspoonful of the strong tincture of Arnica has been 
added, the relief afforded being immediate and perma- 
nent. If the hands or wrists ache after excessive or 
unaccustomed exertion, they may be bathed in about 
a pint of water, to which twenty or thirty drops of 
Arnica have been added. If necessary, in one or two 
hours the application may be repeated. In muscular 
fatigue from long-continued or short but severe exer- 
tion, affecting the hips, thighs, etc., a hip-bath, contain- 
ing a drachm of the strong tincture of Arnica, is an 
excellent remedy. The patient should remain in the 
bath about five minutes. Whatever kind of bath is 
used, and to whatever part it is applied, it should be 
ivarm if used in the evening or immediately after exer- 
tion, but cold or tepid in the morning. Apart from the 
external use of Arnica, that remedy should always be 
taken internally, as it has a wonderfully restorative effect 
in such cases. Alcoholic drinks should not be taken 
after a fatiguing day. The formation of blisters may 
be prevented by wearing easy but well-fitting boots, 
that have become shaped to the feet, made of soft 
upper leather and stout soles. After the evening bath, 
whiting should be rubbed into the feet. Before starting 
in the morning, spirits may be rubbed into the soles, 
heels, and sides of the feet. Before taking very long 
walks it is a very good plan to soap the insides of the 
stocking feet. Silk stockings covered with woolen ones 
will lessen the friction. Woolen stockings are greatly 
to be preferred to cotton when silk cannot be obtained. 



212 INJURIES ACCIDENTS. 

92. — Poisons. 

When it is known that a poisonous substance has 
been swallowed, immediate treatment should be pro- 
ceeded with. A few minutes' delay may cause the loss 
of the patient's life. 

There are two classes of poisons — one in which an 
emetic may be given, the other where an emetic must 
be avoided. 

1. Where there are no signs of burning or corrosion 
about the mouth or lips, give an emetic. 

2. Where these signs are present, an emetic must not 
be given. 

If an acid has been swallowed — oil of vitriol (sul- 
phuric acid) is the most common — this burning or 
staining on the lips will be seen. Dissolve some com- 
mon baking-soda (the bicarbonate) or washing soda, in 
some water, and give the patient immediately. If 
neither of these is obtainable, scrape some plaster 
from the wall, mix it with water, and give this. A 
dose of castor oil may be given afterward. Milk, or 
gruel made with milk, should be given to allay the 
great thirst accompanying this form of poisoning. If 
an alkali has been swallowed — potash, soda, ammonia, 
hartshorn, etc. — acids must be employed. Vinegar, 
mixed with half its quantity of water, or diluted 
lemon juice may be given freely, alternated with olive 
or salad oil. 

If a metallic poison has been taken, such as arsenic, 
antimony or copper, an emetic of mustard and warm 
water should be given at once. If corrosive subli- 
mate or white precipitate be the substance swallowed, 
give &n emetic, and follow this with white of egg, beaten 



poisons. 213 

up in water. This is the direct antidote/ and maybe 
given in any quantity. Belladonna (deadly nightshade), 
Digitalis (foxglove), Fools' parsley (hemlock) are some- 
times eaten by children. Give an emetic of mustard 
and water, followed by hot coffee or tea, and keep the 
patient warm. 

The following is a convenient emetic: For a child, 
a teaspoonful of mustard to a teacupful of warm water ; 
for an adult, a tablespoonful of mustard to a breakfast- 
cup of water. This may be repeated as often as neces- 
sary, so as to empty the stomach as completely as 
possible. 

Poisoning by opium (laudanum). It is most impor- 
tant to keep the patient from sleeping ; once let sleep 
overtake him, and his chances of recovery are indeed 
small. An emetic should be given. The patient should 
then be made to walk up and down in an airy place 
supported by an attendant on each side (who can be 
relieved if necessary), for an hour or more, until he can 
sit down without going to sleep. As soon as he can 
swallow, he should be given some hot and strong coffee, 
but alcohol in any form must be avoided. Opium is 
specially dangerous to children, even in small doses. 
The same treatment may be used, but, in addition, rub- 
bing the limbs with hot flannels should be practiced. 



PART III. 



CONCISE MATERIA MEDICA. 



In this part we have only pointed out a few of the 
leading indications for the use of the principal reme- 
dies, including the Twelve Tissue Remedies. Many, 
such as Aeon., Nux vom., Ars., Sulph., etc., are termed 
polychrests, medicines possessing curative power in 
many diseases. 

In prescribing for so many complaints from such a 
limited list of remedies, it is necessary to remark that 
the Homoeopathic Materia Medica now includes several 
hundred medicines; domestic practitioners, therefore, 
who restrict themselves to these forty or fifty, must not, 
in cases of failure, conclude that they have exhausted 
the resources of Homoeopathy, or despair when so 
wide a range of appliances is available to the profes- 
sional man. 

Many missionaries in foreign lands, as well as persons 
at home, desirous of spreading the benefits of Homoe- 
opathy among the poor, or in districts distant from a 
physician, have sought instruction from the author 
of this Manual, and during the number of years that 
have elapsed since the first edition of this little work 
was published, not a few have been actively engaged in 
restoring to health multitudes from those classes who 
need and claim such aid. 

(214) 



ACONITUM NAPELLUS. 215 

1. Aconitum napellus. — The English names of this 
plant are icolfsbane and monkshood, because its beau- 
tiful flowers resemble the hood which monks used to 
wear. " This medicine/' writes Hempel, " constitutes 
the backbone, as it were, of our Materia Medica," there 
being scarcely an acute disease in which it is not more 
or less required. 

The prominent uses of Aconitum are as follows : All 
feverish and inflammatory affections, chiefly at their com- 
mencement, and often during their course. Its especial 
indications are thirst, and dry, hot skin ; chills and 
shiverings, succeeded by burning heat ; strong, rapid 
pulse ; restlessness, anxiety, flushing of the face ; pain ; 
quick or labored breathing; dry cough, with fever; 
deficient, hot, and high-colored urine; first stage of 
cold in the head, etc. It probably surpasses all other 
known remedies in its power of controlling the circu- 
latory system, and triumphantly supersedes the lancet 
and the leech. " To enumerate," says Dudgeon, " the 
diseases for which it is suitable would be to mention 
the acute inflammation of every possible order and 
tissue of the body ; and if it be not for all of these the 
sole remedy, it is almost always useful either previous 
to, or in alternation with, another remedy which has 
perhaps a more specific relation to the part affected." 
Had Hahnemann's labors been limited to the discovery 
and demonstration of the wide curative power of this 
great remedy, they would have entitled him to the 
gratitude of countless myriads of his fellow-creatures in 
every succeeding generation. He most appropriately 
ranks it as first and foremost in his Materia Medica, not 
because its name begins with the first letter of the 
alphabet, but because of its transcendent power and 



216 MATERIA MEDICA. 

extended sphere of action : he terms it a most precious 
plant, whose efficacy almost amounts to a miracle. 

2. Antimonium crud. — This remedy is chiefly valu- 
able in affections of the mucous membrane and the 
skin, and more especially when they are concurrently 
diseased. 

It is indicated when the mucous membrane of the 
stomach and alimentary canal is loaded with mucus, 
producing eructations, foul, bitter, or tasting of the food ; 
in nausea, with occasional vomiting ; fetid flatulence ; 
loss of appetite; constipation, alternating with diarrhoea; 
mucous discharge of the anus ; secretion of tenacious 
mucus, with much hawking for its removal; milky- 
white tongue ; slow digestion, with drowsiness, loss of 
strength, etc. It corrects that unhealthy condition 
of the digestive organs which favors the production of 
worms. 

Its skin indications are pimples or blotches ; rough 
irregular eruptions on the nose or cheeks; ill-condi- 
tioned, unhealthy appearance. 

3. Apis mell. — Rapid swelling (oedematous) of vari- 
ous parts; erysipelas, with great oedema; nettlerash, 
and itching-stinging eruptions, with swelling ; stings ; 
hoarseness and dry cough, with urinary difficulties; fre- 
quent urging and inability to pass water ; dropsy after 
scarlet fever, etc. 

4. Arnica mont. — Its chief uses are in affections 
resulting from injuries, tingling of the skin, convulsive 
and spasmodic affections, lock-jaw, active discharges of 
blood, vomiting and spitting of blood, and other com- 
plaints from bruises, falls, etc.; severe concussions, such 
as often occur in railway accidents, or in the hunting 
field, without leaving external marks of violence; 



ARNICA MONT. 217 

pains, supposed to be rheumatic, from long, heavy, 
physical toil ; concussion of the brain ; immediate 
treatment after operations and childbirth; rheumatic 
pains ; stitch in the side ; fatigue ; chilblains, with hot 
swelling and tingling ; swelling of the breast, soreness 
of the nipple, etc. 

External Use. — Bruises, concussions, incisions, fract- 
ures, sore nipples, after extraction of teeth, etc. — The dis- 
coloration, stiffness, swelling and soreness consequent 
on bruises by blows or falls may be almost entirely pre- 
vented by the prompt use of this remedy. Its striking 
and rapid remedial effects, however, depend greatly 
upon the promptitude with which it is applied after the 
injury. 

Formula for a Lotion. — Ten to twenty drops of the 
strong tincture to about half a teacupful of water ; the 
bruised parts should be bathed with this lotion, or 
cloths, saturated with it, applied and covered with dry 
cloths to prevent evaporation. Generally, Arnica, as 
prepared for internal use, will hasten the cure, and 
should be administered at the same time. 

Caution. — In some constitutions the application of 
Arnica lotion produces a very troublesome eruption 
closely resembling erysipelas. For such constitutions, 
Ruta grav. or Hamamelis virg. is a safer and better 
remedy. Arnica should never be applied when the skin 
is broken, nor should it be diluted with hot water. 
Arnica oil is an excellent preparation for rheumatic 
pains, stiffness and soreness, especially useful in chronic 
rheumatism and aching joints. 

Arnica cerate is the best preparation for cuts and 
wounds as a dressing, after the lotion has been applied. 

Arnica plaster is medicated, adhesive or court plaster, 
and preferable on that account. 



218 MATERIA MEDICA. 

5. Arsenicum. — Cold, influenza, asthma, bronchitis, 
with difficult expectoration, wheezing breathing, etc.; 
fevers — intermittent, typhoid and putrid — with great 
thirst, debility, etc. ; diseases marked by depressed and 
almost exhausted vitality ; cholera, in the more violent 
forms of the malady; diseases of the stomach and bow- 
els, especially when accompanied by great prostration or 
burning pains ; severe vomiting, diarrhoea, with watery, 
green or dark burning motions ; • skin diseases, particu- 
larly those of a scaly nature ; eruptions about the 
mouth and other parts, attended with burning, and the 
discharge of a thin, watery fluid ; old or obstinate ulcers, 
with burning or itching, or with a bloody, thin, or fetid 
discharge ; and dropsical complaints. 

6. Baryta carb. — Quinsy ; chronic enlargement of the 
tonsils. 

7. Belladonna. — This medicine almost ranks in im- 
portance with Aconite in inflammatory diseases, charac- 
terized by bright-redness of the parts, pain, intolerance 
of light and sound, and other brain symptoms. It is 
often required after Aconite, in inflammation of the 
eyes, with dilated pupils, dread of light, etc. ; sore throat 
with redness and sense of rawness; toothache, with 
throbbing, and congested face ; complaints marked by 
congestion in the head, or with convulsions, neuralgia, 
and delirium. Affections of the brain and nervous 
system ; eruptive fevers, especially simple scarlatina and 
erysipelas ; violent headache, especially frontal, with 
throbbing and redness, aggravated by movement; rheu- 
matic inflammations with hot swellings, and swollen 
glands. Its power in preventing attacks of epidemic 
scarlatina, as well as of curing that disease, has been 
abundantly established by facts. 



BRYONIA — CALENDULA. 219 

8. Bryonia. — Pleurisy; pneumonia; dry, severe cough, 
with a sensation of tickling under the breast-bone ; 
cold in the chest ; stitches, and shooting pains in the chest, 
acutely increased by coughing, a deep inspiration, or 
even movement ; derangements of the liver and bowels ; 
lumbago, sciatica, rheumatism of the joints, and all 
rheumatic affections in which the pain is aggravated by 
movement; bilious headaches, rheumatic fever, jaundice, 
etc. The prominent gastric symptoms are waterbrash; 
bitter or sour risings ; pressure on the stomach, or sen- 
sation as if a stone were there ; and constipation from 
inertia of the bowels. An irritable temper, and a 
gloomy depression of spirits, are additional indications 
for Bryonia. 

9. Calcarea carb. — This remedy is chiefly used 
in scrofulous, rickety and tuberculous affections. Gland- 
ular swelling of the neck and abdomen; eruptions 
around the eyes, and agglutination of the lids ; difficult 
or delayed dentition, with heat and swelling of the gums; 
deafness, with snapping and roaring noises in the ear, 
and chronic disease of the ear; chronic diarrhoea; 
incipient consumption of the bowels ; swelling of the 
mesenteric glands ; cough, with fetid or bloody expec- 
toration, or difficult breathing ; obesity, from a lax con- 
dition of the tissues, or, on the other hand, emaciation; 
diseases of females, when the menses appear too soon 
and are too abundant; sterility; leucorrhoea; chronic 
headache, worst in the morning, from mental fatigue; 
also in inveterate and obstinate diseases of the bones 
(rachitis) and skin. As a general rule, Calcarea is best 
adapted to affections of women and children, and to 
chronic diseases. 

10. Calendula {marigold), — This remedy is used ex- 



220 MATERIA MEDICA. 

ternally, and exerts a most favorable influence in 
promoting the union of wounds with the least re- 
sulting scars, and with the smallest amount of sup- 
puration. Cuts, whether accidental or inflicted in oper- 
ations, or injuries in which the flesh is much torn, and 
which do not heal without the formation of matter; 
wounds penetrating the joints, etc. In such cases it is 
much preferable to Arnica, especially in constitutions 
having a tendency to erysipelas. It controls hemor- 
rhage and relieves the pains attending accidents. 

Formula for a Lotion. — A teaspoonful of the pure 
aqueous tincture to about half a teacupful of water. 
Calendula cerate is the most useful application to aid 
the healing process. 

11. Camphor, Homoeopathic Tincture of. — This rem- 
edy is valuable in the invasive stage of influenza (when 
its administration will often terminate the complaint) ; 
derangements in general, with chilliness and shivering; 
malignant cholera, in the incipient stage of the disorder ; 
excessive, sudden prostration of the nervous system 
from any cause ; fainting and dizziness ; cramps in the 
arms, legs, or abdomen ; severe purging. " It is antido- 
tal to almost all the drastic vegetable poisons ; relieves 
strangury ; procures reaction from cold, congested con- 
ditions ; is the great anti-choleraic ; and quiets nervous 
irritability sometimes better than Coff., Ign. or Hyos. 
This is its whole clinical value — and a great one it is — 
in a nutshell " (Holcombe). — In sudden attacks, two 
drops on a small piece of loaf-sugar, repeated every fif- 
teen or twenty minutes, for three or four times ; in 
cholera, four drops, administered in the same manner, 
every ten, fifteen or twenty minutes. The strongest 
(Rubini's) preparation is the best. In consequence of 



CANTHARIS — CHAMOMILLA. 221 

its volatile properties, it must be kept separate from all 
other homoeopathic remedies. 

12. Cantharis. — Affections of the urinary organs; 
pain in the loins; scanty, scalding, and even bloody 
urine ; tenderness about the bladder ; strangury ; sup- 
pression of urine from acute congestion, etc. 

External Use. — In burns and scalds with threat- 
ened or actual blisters. 

For a Lotion. — Ten drops of the strong tincture to a 
teacupful of water. Cantharis cerate is the best local 
remedy for chilblains, burns or scalds. 

13. Carbo veg. — Affections of the digestive organs, 
with oppression after eating ; flatulent distension of the 
stomach, with acidity or heartburn; burning and con- 
tractive pain and emission of fetid flatulence ; a burn- 
ing sensation in the lower bowel; tendency to diar- 
rhoea ; piles ; worms ; toothache, with spongy or ulcer- 
ated gums ; hoarseness, loss of voice, and sensitiveness 
to variations of weather ; chronic nettlerash ; itching 
and burning of the skin ; unhealthy, burning, fetid 
ulcers. Carbo veg. counteracts the injurious consequen- 
ces of Mercury and Quinine. 

14. Chamomilla. — Diseases of children and women 
affecting the nervous, biliary, and uterine systems. 
Convulsions, arising from teething, anger, or pain in the 
bowels ; neuralgia, with tearing, dragging and lancinat- 
ing pains ; toothache, the pains being worse at night, 
tearing and stitching, with swelling of the cheeks, and a 
feeling as if the teeth were elongated ; difficult dentition, 
when one of the cheeks is red and hot, the gums swollen 
and sensitive, the child irritable, and convulsions are 
indicated ; diarrhoea of children, from cold or teething, 
when the motions are watery, slimy, green, or yellow, 



222 MATERIA MEDICA. 

and preceded by cutting pains ; dentition-fever, with 
crossness, restlessness, and irregular circulation, one 
cheek being hot, the other cold; catarrhal cough of 
children, with hoarseness and rattling of mucus in the 
throat. The action of this remedy upon the sexual sys- 
tem of women is very marked, especially in dysmenor- 
rhea, and in various derangements during pregnancy ; 
after-pains. Also for the consequences of passion, and 
when pain seems to be intolerable, owing to the extreme 
sensitiveness of the patient. 

15. China (Peruvian bark). — Weakness, with easy 
perspiration consequent on exhaustive discharges — loss 
of blood, diarrhoea, prolonged nursing, sexual excesses, 
etc. ; consequences of intermittent and other miasmatic 
fevers, purgatives, mercury, broken rest, etc. It is spe- 
cific to many forms of fever of a periodic type ; debility 
marked by disposition to sweat; exhausting night- 
sweats ; diarrhoea, especially summer diarrhoea, with or 
without pain, and when the discharges are slimy, bil- 
ious, or mixed with undigested food, and very offensive ; 
loss of appetite; bilious taste; flatulence; jaundice; 
enlargement of the spleen, with a dirty-yellow complex- 
ion ; debilitating seminal emissions from sexual vices, 
with undue excitement of the sexual instinct, in pa- 
tients weak, low-spirited, and dyspeptic. 

16. Cimcifuga rac. — Rheumatic affections chiefly of 
the left side, especially when there are uterine diffi- 
culties or irregularities; nervousness; pains in the left 
side below the breast in females ; pain in the lumbar 
region ; crick in the back ; headache, with aching pain 
in the eyeballs; palpitation of the heart; sinking at 
the stomach (not of gastric origin) ; disorders of preg- 
nancy and the critical age, etc.; menstrual troubles, 
especially painful menses. 



CINA DULCAMARA. 223 

17. Cina. — Homoeopathic to the condition which 
produces intestinal parasites, and to affections arising 
from their irritation ; especially threadworms, indicated 
by picking the nose, grinding the teeth, convulsions and 
spasms, voracious appetite alternating with poor appe- 
tite, itching at the seat, diarrhoeic motions, discharge of 
worms, wetting the bed, cutting pain in the abdomen, 
hoarse, hollow cough in children, and other symptoms 
from verminous affections. 

18. Coffea. — Morbid sensitiveness and irritability of 
the nervous system, especially the effects of joy; fret- 
fulness and wakefulness of children ; nervous toothache; 
almost insupportable labor-pains or after-pains ; nervous 
sufferings of highly excitable children or hysterical 
women. 

19. Colocyntliis. — This drug has not a wide range of 
action, and is chiefly prescribed for griping, flatulent 
colic, with diarrhoeic evacuations ; neuralgia, sciatica, etc. 

20. Cuprum. — Derangements of the nervous system, 
cramps, convulsive movements, etc. ; St. Vitus' dance ; epi- 
lepsy, with violent convulsions, paleness of the face, 
dizziness, and great debility ; general nervous affections, 
accompanied by spasm and emaciation; cramps and 
vomiting of cholera ; extreme pain in the bowels, with 
prostration, sallow complexion, and vomiting ; some 
cases of whooping-cough, etc. 

21. Drosera. — Whooping-cough, with suffocative symp- 
toms vomiting, or bleeding from the nose, especially 
when the " whoop " has become fully developed, and 
after the use of Ipec. and Bell. ; also in spasmodic cough 
generally, with a tickling sensation in the throat, vomit- 
ing or wheezing breathing, and a feeling of suffocation. 

22. Dulcamara. — Various affections — cold in the 



224 MATERIA MEDICA. 

head, nausea, catarrh of the bladder, mucous diarrhoea, 
etc. — from damp or a thorough wetting; itching and 
stinging eruptions of the skin, and other conditions fol- 
lowing a cold. If taken immediately after exposure to 
damp, Dulc. will often prevent the ordinary conse- 
quences of a cold. 

23. Gelsemium. — This drug has a sphere of action 
midway between that of Aeon, and Bell. Under the 
nervous system, it is useful in nervous shiverings with- 
out chilliness; excitement of hysteric patients; lan- 
guor, etc., from night- watching ; neuralgic faceache, 
with twitchings of the muscles near the affected part ; 
spasmodic croup, when Aeon, fails or the brain is in- 
volved ; simple sleeplessness of children, or from men- 
tal excitement. In scarlatina it is useful when Aeon, or 
Bell, fails to bring out the eruption bright, especially in 
young children ; also in this and other fevers when there 
is a tendency to remittency. . Weakness of sight, with 
dimness or double vision, with dull heaviness in the 
head, and dizziness ; palpitation of the heart ; pure ner- 
vous toothache — many ailments of children during 
teething, as sleeplessness, pain with sudden outcries, 
spasm of the glottis, etc.; wetting the bed ; acute pain in 
the muscles, from overexertion, etc. 

24. Hamamelis. — Varicose veins ; hemorrhage from 
veins; painful and bleeding piles; tendency to hemor- 
rhage from various parts ; vicarious menstruation ; dys- 
menorrhoea from disease of the ovaries ; discoloration, 
as from a bruise. 

External Use. — Ham. is sometimes a good substi- 
tute for Am. when the latter does not agree with the 
patient. It is a good application for chilblains, bleeding 
piles, etc. One part of the strong tincture to four of 



HEPAR SULPH. IPECACUANHA. 225 

water, or the Distilled Extract of Hamamelis may be 
used, one part to three of water, especially in all kinds 
of hemorrhages. 

25. Hepar sulph. — This is a compound of Sulphur 
and Calcarea, and has points of resemblance to each, 
influencing the skin like Sulphur, and the glands like 
Calcarea. It has also an action differing from either 
of these remedies separately. It is chiefly prescribed 
in inflammatory affections of the windpipe and air-passages, 
croup, wheezing breathing, hoarseness; consumptive 
coughs, etc. ; also for scrofulous enlarged glands discharg- 
ing matter ; abscesses ; scaldhead ; salivation and other 
consequences from large doses of Mercury. Like Silicea, 
but to a less extent, it favors the suppurative process. 

26. Ignatia. — This remedy is valuable for the con- 
sequences of grief in persons, females particularly, of a 
highly sensitive temperament, who often change from 
high spirits to a low state of despondency ; nervous 
headache ; hysteric, convulsive or spasmodic disorders, 
consequent on grief, disappointment or ill-humor, with 
the sensation of a ball rising in the throat (globus hysteri- 
cus) ; nervous affections of girls at puberty, and women 
at the critical period ; also some of the symptoms 
of hypochondriasis in the male sex ; convulsive affections 
of infants and children from worms ; prolapsus ani, etc. 

27. Ipecacuanha. — Chiefly useful in affections of the 
respiratory and digestive organs. Spasmodic, suffocative 
cough with tickling in the throat, sometimes with nau- 
sea, vomiting, bloody expectoration or bleeding from the 
nose; spasmodic asthma, especially at night; whooping- 
cough, during the spasmodic stage, with rattling breath- 
ing ; hay-fever, and some varieties of bronchitis. De- 
rangements of the digestive organs, characterized by 

15 



226 MATERIA MEDICA. 

simple nausea and vomiting, with or without diarrhoea, 
colic, with loose, fermented or dysenteric stools, especi- 
ally in children. Hemorrhage from various organs, the 
blood being bright-red, with anxiety, pale face, vomit- 
ing, and much nausea. 

28. Kali bich. — Affections of the mucous membranes and 
the skin. On the respiratory mucous lining it has great 
power, especially in chronic bronchitis, with much tough, 
itringy mucus, difficult to expectorate; cough, with 
wheezing, difficult breathing; chronically ulcerated 
throat ; hoarseness ; chronic catarrh ; croup ; polypus of the 
nose. It is curative in catarrhal and strumous ophthal- 
mia, and in syphilitic affections of the eye. In the 
digestive tract it is valuable in chronic dyspepsia, with 
heartburn, eructations, nausea, thickly coated, yellowish 
tongue, bitter taste, etc. An additional indication for 
its use is a simultaneous affection of the respiratory and 
digestive mucous membrane. Affections of the skin, 
within a sphere of the action of this remedy, are chiefly 
pustular eruptions, ulcers of the legs (see also Calendula 
as an external remedy), especially of a syphilitic char- 
acter, and pimples on the face. 

29. Lyeopodium. — Atonic affections of the digestive 
organs ; pain, sensitiveness or distension of the abdo- 
men; waterbrash ; chronic constipation; gravel and 
stone; moist eruptions; scaldhead; glandular swell- 
ings, rheumatic complaints ; scrofulous ulcers ; loss of 
hair. 

30. Mercurins. — There are various preparations of 
Mercury used by homoeopathic practitioners; but in 
this Manual we have chiefly referred to two, as under : 

1. Mercurius sol. — This remedy is prescribed for 
glandular affections, with swelling and sometimes sup- 



NUX VOMICA. 227 

puration ; sore throat, with swelling, pain, difficulty 
in swallowing and ulceration; profuse flow of saliva 
from the mouth with a fetid odor; thrush; cancrum 
oris ; toothache from decay, with aching, tearing pains, 
extending to the temples and glands, and a tendency 
to gumboils ; jaundice, yellowness of the skin and of the 
whites of the eyes ; ophthalmia ; agglutination of the 
eyelids ; ulcers on the cornea ; discharge from the ears, 
soreness, deafness ; diarrhoea, frequent desire to relieve 
the bowels, preceded by chilliness, with green, clay, or 
various-colored, slimy and offensive, evacuations, especi- 
ally the diarrhoea of infants and children ; torpid liver, 
with deficient secretion of bile, as shown by pale, fetid 
and costive motions, dull pain in the right side, poor 
appetite and dejection of spirits; long round worms; 
syphilitic and scrofulous swellings of the glands in the 
groins; gonorrhoea; syphilis, etc. Two marked symp- 
toms indicating this remedy are aggravation of the 
pains and general symptoms at night, and profuse 
perspirations that afford no relief. 

2. Mercurius cor. — Dysenteric affections, with tenes- 
mus, burning pains in the abdomen and discharge of 
blood and mucus ; ophthalmia. 

31. Nux vomica. — Functional gastric derangements 
from a depressed condition of the nervous system, 
especially the following : Constipation, with ineffectual 
desire for stool ; constipation alternating ivith relaxation, 
the action being inharmonious and spasmodic; water- 
brash, heartburn, flatulence, the symptoms being of a 
spasmodic character ; headache, w r ith giddiness, flushed 
face, constipation and other symptoms dependent on 
gastric conditions ; acute indigestion with nausea and 
violent vomiting, headache, trembling hands and other 



228 MATERIA MEDICA. 

affections following intoxication. Chronic congestion 
of the liver ; spasmodic asthma ; dry coryza ; irritable 
bladder and spasmodic stricture, from abuse of alcohol. 
The pains which point to Nux arise from spasm, and 
not from inflammation. It is especially valuable in 
affections resulting from sedentary habits, want of out- 
of-door recreation, too close brain labor, anxiety and 
business cares, night-watching, indulgence at table, and 
the abuse of alcohol or tobacco. It is best adapted to 
persons of spare habit, firm fiber and of energetic, 
irritable or hypochondriacal disposition, with tendency 
to irregular action of the bowels and piles. The symp- 
toms come on or are worse early in the morning, and 
are increased by taking food or by mental effort. 

32. Opium. — Obstinate constipation, from paralytic 
obstruction or want of peristaltic action of the intes- 
tines; lead colic; paralytic retention of urine; recent 
affections from fright or sudden violent emotions; 
apoplectic conditions with stertorous breathing, and slow 
and full pulse ; typhus fever with sleepiness, listlessness 
and partial retention of urine; general mental and 
physical torpor. As may be inferred from the last in- 
dication, Opium is often useful in that nervous insus- 
ceptibility through which remedies, although clearly 
indicated, fail to effect improvement, when by restoring 
impressionability it places the patient in a condition to 
be benefited by the appropriate remedy. 

33, Phosphorus. — Chiefly valuable in affections of 
the lungs, and in long-continued, exhausting diseases 
of w r hich the following is an epitome : Pneumonia, 
especially in children ; chronic bronchitis, with con- 
siderable constitutional irritation ; hoarseness ; dry cough, 
or cough with expectoration of mucus, sometimes with 



PODOPHYLLUM PULSATILLA. 229 

blood ; chronic cough ; consumption, in which it is 
of signal use, moderating the cough, diarrhoea and con- 
gestion of the lungs; chronic wasting, diarrhoea and 
hectic; chronic inflammation of the stomach and 
bowels; atrophy of the liver and other hepatic affec- 
tions; malignant jaundice ; fatty degeneration in any 
part ; typhus and other fevers, with want of vital reac- 
tion ; also physical and nervous weakness from loss of ani- 
mal fluids, especially from sexual excesses and self-abuse, 

34. Podophyllum. — Biliousness, diarrhoea, watery, es- 
pecially urgent in the morning, and prolapsus of the 
bowels. 

35. Pulsatilla. — Mucous dyspepsia, with thickly coated 
rough tongue, nausea and vomiting of bile, mucus, or 
of a bitter, sour fluid, with diminished or altered taste ; 
indigestion from fat, pork, pastry or other rich food ; 
mucous diarrhoea, with little pain, chiefly at night ; 
heartburn. It assists in cleansing the tongue, moder- 
ating the catarrh, and checking the diarrhoea in measles, 
chickenpox, remittent fever, and other diseases of children. 
In the respiratory mucous membrane it is chiefly useful 
in catarrhal affections and subacute bronchitis, with much 
mucous discharge. Puis, is much used in profuse 
lachrymation, agglutination, twitching, styes and other 
affections of the eyelids, especially of a subacute char- 
acter, and in scrofulous persons. Deafness from catarrh, 
or following measles, with noises in the ears ; earache 
of children, with purulent discharge. Varicose veins, and 
embarrassed venous circulation, especially during preg- 
nancy. In gout and rheumatism, it is chiefly indicated 
when the attacks are subacute, and the pains shift from 
one part to another. The most remarkable property, 
however, of this remedy is its action upon the female 



230 MATERIA MEDICA. 

sexual system, as in tardy, scanty or suppressed men- 
struation ; leucorrhoea ; false, delayed or deficient labor- 
pains ; retained placenta ; excessive after-pains ; sup- 
pression of the lochia and a deficient secretion of milk. 
It is also useful in swollen testicle and other affections of 
the male organs. Generally, however, Puis, is more 
suited to the female sex, or rather to persons of gentle 
dispositions or fair complexion, easily excited to 
laughter or weeping, and with a tendency to relaxation 
rather than constipation. 

36. Rhus tox. — This remedy is chiefly used in 
rheumatism and in affections of the skin. Rheumatism, 
subacute and chronic, worse during rest and on 
first attempting to move, but relieved after a little 
movement ; lumbago, especially after the use of Aeon. ; 
rheumatism ; sciatica ; paralysis, partial or complete, 
especially from exposure of the back to damp and cold ; 
vesicular erysipelas ; chickenpox ; ringworm ; shingles ; 
scaldhead, etc. Rhus is valuable in sprains, injuries to 
ligaments , tendons, joints and the membranes investing 
the joints ; also in extensive superficial burns. The stings 
of insects, old chilblains and sometimes warts are re- 
lieved or cured by it. 

37. Spongia. — We have inserted this remedy in our 
list, not because it is in very frequent demand, but be- 
cause it ought to be at hand whenever required. 

Its grand use, alone or more generally in turns with 
Aeon., is in croup, especially in the earliest stage, when 
it will frequently terminate an attack in a short time. 
It is also useful in dry, hard, barking cough, worse at 
night; hoarseness, with dry cough and obstructed 
breathing ; croupy cough, such as frequently precedes 
or follows croup ; goitrous enlargements, etc. 



SULPHUR — TARTAR EMETIC. 231 

38. Sulphur. — This drug has a specific action upon 
the skin, and less so upon the mucous membranes ; in 
a minor degree it affects all parts of the animal econ- 
omy. In affections of the skin, it is indicated by an 
irritation or itching, which yields an agreeable sensation 
on scratching, and is aggravated by the warmth of bed ; 
eruptions, chiefly papular, but sometimes vesicular; 
boils, preventively and curatively ; chilblains ; whitlows ; 
scaldhead, and in many scrofulous affections. Sulphur is 
strictly homoeopathic to boils, since it is well known 
that they often result from the excessive use of this 
drug, as in drinking sulphur-waters. In affections of 
the mucous tract, Sulphur is chiefly required in those of 
the eyes, the urethra, and the rectum, as in strumous 
and catarrhal ophthalmia; incontinence of urine; 
chronic gonorrhoea ; prolapsus of the womb ; burning 
and itching of the anus; piles and chronic constipation. 

Sulphur is often of service in arousing dormant nerv- 
ous energies, so as to render the system susceptible to 
the action of medicines indicated. 

39. Tartar emetic. — The chief sphere of action of 
this medicine lies in the mucous membrane, the lungs and 
the skin. In large doses it produces a kind of catarrhal 
inflammation, beginning in the lining membrane of the 
throat, and extending to the trachea and bronchial 
tubes, and even exerting its irritant influence on the 
lung tissues themselves. Clinical experience has amply 
proved its value in certain inflammations involving 
these parts, especially in catarrhal croup, bronchitis and 
pneumonia. 

On the skin it causes a pustular eruption resembling 
that of smallpox. It also produces vomiting, and that 
peculiar alteration of the blood which is character- 



232 MATERIA MEDICA. 

istic of smallpox. As it might be supposed, then, Tart 
emet. has been found a remedy of the first importance 
in this disease, and, if timely used, scarcely requires the 
aid of any other medicine. The vomiting to which this 
remedy is homoeopathic is nervous and sympathetic 
rather than gastric, and is attended by nausea, cold and 
pale skin, and great prostration. 

40. Veratrum album. — In autumnal diarrhoea, when 
vomiting is superadded to the purging; English and 
Asiatic cholera ; diarrhoea and painful gripings ; violent 
vomiting and purging, short of that sudden deadly col- 
lapse which indicates Arsenicum. Cramps in the bowels 
or limbs ; headache with vomiting ; cold sweat and 
coldness of the whole body ; black vomit; great weak- 
ness and convulsions ; vomiting during pregnancy. It 
is often beneficial in the convulsive stage of whooping- 
cough. 

41. Veratrum viride. — Fever, with severe headache and 
brain symptoms, rapid pulse, and sickness; remittent 
fever of infants ; the invasive stage of scarlatina, mea- 
sles, etc., with head symptoms as above; erysipelas, 
especially the vesicular variety ; here it may also be ap- 
plied externally — thirty drops of the strong tincture to 
half-a-pint of water — congestion of the head during 
teething; pneumonia, etc. Inflamed corns, bunions, 
etc., may be touched with the strong tincture. 

Antidotes. 

In the event of an overdose of any of the above med- 
icines having been administered, two drops of the strong 
Tincture of Camphor or a strong infusion of Coffee will 
generally arrest any unpleasant consequences. 



THE CHIEF USES OF THE TWELVE TISSUE 
REMEDIES. 



1. Eerrum phosphoricum (Phosphate of Iron}. — All 
ailments arising from disturbed circulation, fevers, in- 
flammations, congestions ; thus whenever heat, pain, 
redness, throbbing, quickened pulse are present. The 
first stage of all acute diseases, colds, pneumonia, 
p]eurisy, bronchitis, croup, diphtheria, diarrhoea, rheu- 
matism, etc. It is the best and surest remedy for colds 
on the chest in children, whether simple catarrhal 
affections or going on to pneumonia. Nosebleed always 
calls for it, or any hemorrhage from any orifice of the 
body. Compare with Aconite, Gelsemium and Veratrum 
viride. 

2. Kali muriaticum (Chloride of Potash). — All ail- 
ments characterized by exudations, infiltrations, swell- 
ings, during the later stages of acute diseases ; thus, after 
or in alternation with Ferrum phos. All ailments ac- 
companied by a white or gray coating of the tongue ; 
thick white discharge and expectorations, skin diseases, 
dysentery, etc. An excellent constitutional remedy 
for old chronic ailments, hereditary complaints and 
dyscrasias. Compare w r ith Bryonia, Mercurius and Pul- 
satilla. 

3. Kali phosphoricum (Phosphate of Potash). — The 
great remedy for all forms of nervous debility. It is 
indicated in all diseases or symptoms arising from want 
of nerve power, brain exhaustion, neurasthenia, sleep- 
lessness, want of energy, irritability, lack of confidence, 

(233) 



234 TWELVE TISSUE REMEDIES. 

gloomy forebodings, morbid fears, hysteria, hypochon- 
driasis, melancholy, etc. Nervousness. Neuralgia and 
pains generally, especially in those who are run down. 
Headaches in delicate and excitable, nervous patients. 
Paralyzing pains in limbs. Also the remedy for very 
offensive discharges, offensive ulcers, etc. It is the 
remedy for all nervous people, curing their headaches, 
neuralgias, sleeplessness, despondencies and pains. 
Compare with China, Ignatia, Lachesis and Phosphorus. 

4. Kali sulphuricum (Sulphate of Potash). — A want of 
this salt causes yellow, slimy deposit on the tongue, 
slimy, thin, decidedly yellow or greenish discharges and 
peeling of skin. Useful in any ailment where this con- 
dition prevails, especially if patient is worse toward 
evening, and in heated room. Catarrhs from any mu- 
cous membrane — head, vagina, etc. — when secretion is 
yellow and slimy. Frequently called for toward the 
end of a cold, when the discharge is profuse and comes 
up easily. Compare with Pulsatilla, Antimonium crud. 
and Sulphur. 

5. Magnesia phosphorica (Phosphate of Magnesia). — 
Chief remedy for nervous complaints of a spasmodic 
nature. All ailments with intense pain, darting, spas- 
modic, constricting. It is the great anti-spasmodic 
remedy, hence useful in convulsions, colic with flatu- 
lence, St. Vitus' dance, spasmodic cough, cramps, neu- 
ralgia, palpitation, toothache, writer's cramp, etc. 
Chief remedy for baby's colic. Compare with Colocyn- 
this, Belladonna, Ignatia and Coffea. 

6. Calcarea phosphorica (Phosphate of Lime). — The 
great remedy for the young and growing. Indispensable 
during dentition and puberty. The tonic after acute 
diseases and for constitutional weakness, consumption, 



NATRUM SULPHURICUM — NATRUM PHOSPHORICUM. 235 

emaciation, bone diseases and all ailments that prove 
obstinate. Slowly developing, weak children, chlorosis 
and difficulties during menstruation; leucorrhcea and 
pains during menses, especially in young girls. The 
great remedy for transition periods of life — dentition, 
puberty, old age. Compare with Phytolacca, Chamomilla 
and Silicea. 

7. Natrum sulphuricum (Sulphate of Soda), — Acts on 
the cells of the liver and kidneys, and regulates the 
amount of water in the tissues. Biliousness, headache 
with vomiting of bile, bitter taste, diarrhoea, gravel, 
sandy urine, intermittent fever, dropsy, diabetes, liver 
troubles ; troubles arising from living in damp places. 
Compare with Podophyllum, Bryonia and Nux vom. 

8. Natrum muriaticum (Salt). — Is found in all the 
tissues of the body. Useful for all pains, such as indi- 
gestion, etc., when accompanied by either flow of saliva 
or increased secretion of tears, vomiting of water or 
clear mucus. Catarrhs with frothy, watery mucus or 
blisters. In all catarrhs where the secretion is clear 
and transparent. Headache, costiveness, intermittent 
fever, with catarrh of the stomach. Compare with 
Arsenic and Rhus. 

9. Natrum phosphoricum (Phosphate of Soda). — Is the 
remedy for those diseases that arise from an acid condi- 
tion of the system. It is especially suited to young 
children who have been fed with too much sugar, and 
suffer from acidity. Dyspepsia, acid risings, sour vom- 
iting, greenish, sour diarrhoea, tongue is coated with a 
yellow deposit and thick like cream. Whenever this 
condition is present, no matter what disease, this rem- 
edy will prove curative. For worms and complaints 
caused by their presence. Compare with Cina, Mercu- 
rius and Antimonium crud. 



236 TWELVE TISSUE REMEDIES. 

10. Calcarea fluorica {Fluoride of Lime). — A disturb- 
ance of the equilibrium of the molecules of this salt 
causes a dilatation and relaxed condition of elastic 
fibers, hence useful in varicose veins, hemorrhoids and 
vascular tumors. Also in hard bony swellings. For 
piles ; if they are apt to bleed it may be advantageously 
alternated with Ferrum phos. Compare with Silicea, 
Hamamelis and Pulsatilla. 

11. Calcarea sulphurica (Sulphate of Lime). — Acts on 
the connective tissue and is the most useful remedy in 
suppurations. Abscesses, mattery discharges, tubercular 
ulcers, rheumatism. Compare with Hepar, Calendula 
and Silicea. 

12. Silicea (Quartz). — Is useful in suppurations, but 
it promotes the formation of pus, maturing abscesses, 
while Calcarea sidph. comes in later to heal the wound. 
Diseases of the nervous system, paralytic symptoms, 
spasms, rheumatic pain in limbs, etc. Compare with 
Rhus and Calcarea. 



PART IV. 

CLINICAL DIRECTORY. 



The object of the Clinical Directory is to enlarge the 
utility of this Manual by prescribing for numerous dis- 
eases and conditions, arranged alphabetically, that 
could not otherwise be included in the work, and to give 
at a glance some of the leading remedies that the author 
and other physicians have found valuable in practice. 

To use this portion intelligently, it is essential to pos- 
sess a knowledge of Materia Medica, as it is only in- 
tended to refreshen the memory of the initiated, or to 
consult it always in connection with a good work of that 
description. 

While we have endeavored to arrange the remedies in 
the order of their importance, or in that in which they 
are most likely to be required, our success cannot always 
be taken for granted ; and, indeed, in some cases, our 
necessarily brief list may not include the true homoeo- 
pathic remedy at all. Individuality and idiosyncrasy 
may greatly modify the choice. The perfection of pre- 
scribing lies in a concentration of attention on individ- 
uals, and in bringing into the focus of thought, as it 
were, the morbid symptoms and signs present, with the 
various circumstances of parentage, habits of life, pro- 
clivities to diseased action, and any peculiarities which 
may influence the patient. 

Finally, we take the liberty to add, the Directory 
consists of prescriptions that have been largely tested 
and amply confirmed by clinical (bedside) experience. 

*k* The contractions alt, int., and ext., signify alternately with, in- 
ternally, and externally, respectively. 

(237) 



CLINICAL DIRECTORY. 

Abscess.— Acute: Bell., Hepar sulph.; Merc. 

Chronic: SiL, Calc, Sulph., Phos. ; Chin, (excessive discharge). 
Mammary: Phytol., Bry. (for the earliest symptoms); Bell. alt. 

Hepar sulph.; Phos. (chronic cases) ; Mere., Chin. 
Threatening : Ferr. phos. 
Acid Dyspepsia (heartburn): Carbo veg.,Bry.,Nux vom.; Lye. (in elderly 

persons); Pulsat., Veratr. alb., Natr. phos. 
Acne : Kali mur. 

After- Pains : Sec., Kali mur., Puis., Arn., Cham., Magn. phos. 
Ague: Chin, or Quin. ; Ars. (chronic); Veratr. alb. (severe and obsti- 
nate); Phos. ac, Ceclron ; Nux vom. or Ipec. (much gastric dis- 
turbance); Sulph. quin. {obstinate, symptoms variable); Ign. (much 

chill with frequent paroxysms); Natr. sulph. 
Alcohol.— Effects of Excessive Use of : Nux vom., Opium, Ars., 

Caps.; Ant. tart, (gastric irritation); Laches.* 
Alopecia (loss of hair). — From Previous Illness, Grief, etc.: 

Phos. ac, Ign., Calc, SiL, Chin., Canth. (and ext. in pomade). 

Thorough brushing with long-bristled hair-brushes. 
From Mercury : Carbo veg., Hepar sulph. 
With Frequent Headache : Fluor, ac, Mtr. ac, Phos., Sep. 
Amenorrhoea (absent or deficient monthly period) : Puis., Sep., Calc 

phos., Conium (chronic); Ferr. (with awxmia); Senec, Sulph. 

See also Menstruation. 
Anaemia (deficiency or poverty of blood): Ferr., Chin., Calc. phos. 
Anger. — Effects of : Cham., Aeon., Bry., Coloc 
Angina Pectoris (breast-pang) : Ars., Dig., Samb., Veratr. alb., Cact., 

Laches., Veratr. vir., Strych. 
Ankles.— Swelling of: Ars., Chin., Bry., Phos., Ferr., Apis. Also 

rest in the prone posture. 
Weakness of : Calc, Phos., Sulph., Sil. 
Anus. — Itching of : Sulph., Nitr. ac ; Cina, Ign. or Merc, (from 

worms); Ars., Aeon, (burning itching ivith dryness). Apply Ver- 

bascum ointment. 
Prolapsus of : Ign., Nux vom., Podoph., Merc. Local bathing, 

injections, and carefully returning the prolapsus. 
Anxiety, Care, Grief, etc.— Effects of : Ign., Aur., Nux vom., Phos. 

ac, Puis., Gels., Chin. 
Aphonia (loss of voice): Aeon., Caust. (catarrhal); Bar. carb., Phos., 

Merc; Ign. or Bell, (hysterical); Kali hydr. (syphilitic); Arn. 

(from overuse) ; Ferr. phos. 
Chronic: Kali, bich., Hepar sulph., Phos., Carbo veg., Caust., 

Kali mur. 



*See the admirable small treatise on the " Treatment of Alcoholism," by Dr. Gallavardin, 

(238) 



CLINICAL DIRECTORY. 239 

Aphthae (thrush) : Borax int. and at.; Merc, Ars., Snlph.; Sulphur- 
ous acid spray (one part to ten of water) ; Kali mur. 
Apoplexy: Aeon., Opium, Bell., Glonoin, ISux vom. 

Predisposition to : Strict temperance in eating and drinking; 
avoidance of excitement, haste, heated rooms, etc. 
Appetite — Loss of: Chin., xsux vom., Puis., Rhus, Ars., Ferr. 

Voracious or Depraved: Calc, Cina, ISux vom., Sil., Veratr. 
Ascarides (see Threadworms) : Natr. phos., Cina. 
Ascites (abdominal dropsy) : Apoc. can., Ars., Apis, Dig., Chin. 
Asthma : Ars., Aeon., Ipec, Lob., Euphr., Cupr., Sulph. 

Of Cheldren : Ant. tart., Samb., Ipec, Ars., Cupr., Natr. sulph. 
Atrophy (wasting): Iod., Calc, Sulph., Phos., Ars., Calc phos. 

From Worms: Cina, Merc, Ant. crud. 
Backache. — From Exertion: Arn., Rhus, Bry., Gels., Natr. mur. 
From Painful Period : Bell., Puis., Sec, Coca, Plat. 
From Spinal Irritation: Chin., Ign., Kux vom., Gels., Kali 

phos. 
See also Lumbago, Menstruation: Painfue. 
Baldness. See Alopecia. 
Barber's Itch : Ant. tart., Cinnab., Ars. 

Bed-Sores : Glycerine cream or Calendula lotion ; also Calend., Arnica 
oil, or Arnica plaster. In bad chronic cases a water- or air-bed. 
Prevention of: Washing the parts exposed to pressure morn- 
ing and evening with tepid water ; and, after drying with a soft 
towel, a little Glycerine or Arnica oil should be rubbed evenly 
over the parts. When there is much redness, and the skin is 
unbroken, a little brandy or other spirit of proof strength should 
be applied. 
Belching (see Eructations): Chin. 
Bilious Attacks : Iris (sick-headache) ; Ipec ; Cham, (in children and 

excitable females); Bry., Natr. sulph., Xux vom., Puis., Ars. 
Bites and Stings : Ledum, Apis, Khus, Canth., all int. and exL 
Black Eye : Arn. exL, immediately ; Ham. (broken skin or discolora- 
tion) ; Ferr. phos. 
Bladder.— Catarrh of : Ant. crud., Puis., Ferr. phos., Canth., Cann. 
Inflammation of : Canth., Tereb., Apis, Aeon., Ferr. phos. 
Paraeysis of : Bar. carb., Nux vom., Ars., Bell., Opium, Kali 
phos. See also Urine. 
Blear-Eyes : Euphr., Sulph., Puis., Merc. , Ars., Calc, Clemat. 
Bleeding {see Hemorrhage) : Ferr. phos. 
Bloody Urine. See Hemorrhage : From the Bladder. 
Blotches : Ars., Bell., Hepar sulph., Ant. crud., Graph., Lvc, 

Clemat. 
Boils: Bell., Sulph., Hepar sulph.; Arn. (much pain); Apis (numer- 
ous and small) ; Sulph., Hepar sulph. (to prevent recurrence). 
Bones.— Caries (decay) of : Sil., Phos. ac, Sulph., Calc. fluor. 
CurvatVre of : Calc, Sil., Sulph. 

Exostosis (abnormal growth of) : Aur., Merc, iod., Calc fluor. 
Pains in: Merc, Aur., Mez., Ars., Merc iod., Eup. pur. 



240 CLINICAL DIRECTORY. 

Bowels.— Inflammation of: Aeon., Bell, Coloc, Merc, cor., Ars., 
Bry.; also hot fomentations, poultices, or wet compresses. 

Pain in. See Colic. See also Constipation, Diarrhoea, Anus, etc. 
Brain.— Concussion of: Arn., Aeon., Bell. 

Congestion of: Glonoin, Bell., Aeon. 

Inflammation of : Aeon., Bell., Yeratr. vir., Bry., Hyosc, Opium. 
Breast-Pang. See Angina Pectoris. 

Breath. — Fetid : Merc, Carbo veg., Spig., Aur., Aeon., Puis. 
Breathing.— Difficult. See Asthma, Bronchitis, Croup, etc. 
Bright' s Disease : Ars., Phos., Merc, cor., Tereb., Canth. 
Bronchitis. — Acute: Aeon., Ant. tart., Biy., Ipec, Phos., Kali bich., 
Ferr. phos. 

In Children : Phos., Ant. tart., Ferr. phos. 

In the Aged: Carbo veg., Ant. tart., Senega, Squill. 

Chronic: Kali bich., Hepar sulph., Phos., Carbo veg., Ars., 
Kali mur. 
Bruises : Arn. (externally). See also Contusion and Ecchymosis. 
Bunions : Veratr. vir., Am. or Ruta, as a paint. Arnica oil. 
Burns and Scalds : Canth., Rhus, Kreos. or Urtica, ext y very dilute; 

Canth. cerate. 
Cancer : Ars., Hydrast., Conium, Phytol. 
Canker of the Mouth : Kali mur., Merc, Ars. (idiopathic) ; Carbo 

veg., Mtr. ac. (mercurial) ; Sulphurous acid spray, locally. 
Carbuncle: Bell., alt. Sulph. (early stage); Apis (much swelling); 

Ars. (bad cases); Aeon, (much inflammation) ; Sil. (indolent). 
Caries (decay) of Bones : Sil., Phos. ac, Aur., Mtr. ac, Merc 

Of Teeth : Kreos., Merc, Staph., Phos. 
Cataract : Conium, Phos., Cann., Calc, Sil., Sulph. 
Catarrh.— General Tendency to: Calc phos., Natr. mur. 

Thick Yellow Discharge : Calc sulph. 

Chronic : Sulph., Kali sulph. 
Chancre (a syphilitic sore): Merc, Mtr. ac, Kali hydr., Phytol. 
Change of Life {see Menstruations Cessation of. 
Chapped Hands : Arn., Calend. cerate, Arnica oil. 
Chickenpox : Rhus, Sulph., Ant. tart. 
Chilhlains : Petrol., Rhus, Cantharis cerate ext. 
Child-bed Fever. See Puerperal Fever. 

Chlorosis (green-sickness) : Natr. mur., Ferr., Puis., Sep., Calc. phos. 
Cholera. — Infantum: Calc. phos., Veratr. 

Malignant : Camph., Veratr., Cupr., Ars. 
Chordee : Aeon. int. and ext; Gels., Bell., Canth., Chloral. 
Chorea (St Vitus' Dance): Cupr., Agar., Veratr. vir., Bell., Ign., 

Cimic, Ars. 
Circulation.— Feeble : Calc phos. ; Carbo in old people. 
Clergyman's Sore Throat: Ferr. phos., Phos., Hepar. 
Cirrhosis (a diseased, contracted liver) : Phos., Merc cor., Dig., Ars. 
Cold in the Head: Aeon.; Ars., Merc; Nux vom. (stuffy cold) ; Euphr. 
(lachrymation) ; Kali bich., Kali hydr., or Sulph. (chronic). 



CLINICAL DIRECTORY. 241 

Cold on the Chest : Bry. alt. Aeon, or Ferr. phos. See also Bron- 
chitis. 
Cold Feet. See Feet. 

Colic: Coloc. (with diarrhoea) , Nuxvom. or Plumb, (constipation); Iris 
(flatulent colic)] Collin., Magn. phos. 
Lead : Opium, Alum., Sulph. ac 

Menstrual : Coca, Plat., Xux vom., Sec, Magn. phos. 
Congestion of the Brain : Aeon., Bell., Glon., Opium, Gels. 

Of the Liver : Merc., Bell., Aloes, Bry., Chin., Ars., Iod., Aeon. 
Of the Lungs: Aeon., Phos., Veratr. vir., Ant. tart., Ferr. phos. 
Constipation: Nux vom. (frequent ineffectual efforts) ; Bry. or Opium. 
(torpor) ; Lye. (with flatulence) ; Sulph., Collin., or iEscul. (with 
piles) ; Plumb, (obstinate). 
Consumption: Phos., Ars., Phos. ac., Ferr. iod., Dros., Calc. iod., 
Lycop., Cannab. 
Of the Bowels: Iod., Calc, Ferr., Sulph., Merc iod., Ars. 
Contusion : Arn. ; Ham. (with discoloration) ; Conium (of the female 

breast) ; Ruta (of the shin-bone) ; all int. and ext. 
Convulsions : Bell., Cham., Veratr. vir. (with cramp); Gels, {rigidity) ; 
Opium (from fright). Also enemata of warm water. See also 
Epilepsy. 
Hysterical : Camph., Magn. phos., Moschus, Ign., Hyosc. 
Corns: Calc, Sulph. Also Arn. (simple), or Veratr. vir. (inflamed), 

ext. use of. 
Corpulency. See Obesity. 

Cough. — Catarrhal : Aeon., Bell., Bry., Caust., Ferr. phos., Phytol. 
Chronic : Kali bich., Sulph., Phos., Bry. 
Croupous : Spong., Hepar sulph., Cupr. 
Hysterical : Coral., Hyosc, Ign. 
Whooping : Ipec, Dros., Coral., Veratr. vir., Gels, or Bell, (head 

symptoms) ; Magn. phos. 
In most cases cough may be modified by strong efforts of the will 
to resist it. 
Cracks of the Lips, etc: Graph., Merc. Also Arn. or Calend. cerate. 
Cramps. — In the Abdomen. See Colic. 

In the Calves : Veratr., Nux vom. ; Arn. (from fatigue) ; Bell., 

Cupr., Gels. 
In the Stomach : Nux vom., Diosc, Cocc, Magn. phos. 
Crick in the Neck : Aeon. alt. Bell, (cold) ; Cimic, Bry. 
Critical Age. See Menstruation : Cessation of. 
Croup: Aeon. alt Spong., Iod., or Hep. 
Cyanosis (blue disease) : Dig., Ars., Cupr., Veratr. 
Cystitis (inflammation of the bladder): Canth., Tereb., Apis. 
Dandruff (scurf on the head): Ars., Graph., Lye, Sulph., Rhus. 
Deafness.— From Cold : Aeon., Merc, Bell., Puis., Dulc, Kali mur. 
Mullein oil locally is of marked benefit. 
From Enlargement of Tonsils : Merc, iod.. Bell., Calc. phos., 

Bar. carb.; Iod. or Kali hydr. (chronic). 
After Measles : Puis., Sulph., BelL 



242 CLINICAL DIRECTORY. 

Deaf ne8s.— After Scarlatina : Bell., Hepar sulph., Calc. 

After Smallpox : Merc., Sulph., Bell. 

From Nervous Disease : Phos., Phos. ac., Chin.; Petrol, (noises). 
Debility : Chin., Ferr., Phos., Phos. ac. (from loss of blood, etc.); Calc. 

phos., Ign., IocL, Nux vom. (nervous) ; Kali phos. 
Delirium Tremens : Stram., Opium, Bell., Hyosc, Nux vom. 
Dentition (difficult) : Calc. phos., Cham., Aeon., Kreos., Veratr. vir., 

Phytol. 
Depression of Spirits : Ign., Aur., Chin., Nux vom., Plat. ; Merc., or 

Podoph. (from disordered liver) ; Kali phos. 
Determination of Blood. See Congestion. 
Diabetes (excessive sugary urine): Phos. ac, Ars., Nux vom., Helon., 

Uran. nit. 
Diarrhoea — From Indigestible Food : Ant. crud., Puis., Ipec. 

From Cold: Aeon., Dulc, Merc, Camph. (sudden). 

From Worms: Cina, Ars., Merc, Natr. phos. 

With Colic : Coloc, Veratr., Magn. phos. 

Nocturnal: Puis., Chin., Khus {morning). 

Summer : Chin., Veratr., Cham., Ars., Iris. 

In Children : Cham., Merc, Rheum, Ipec, Dulc, Calc. phos. 

In the Aged : Phos., Ars., Chin., Ant. crud. 
Diphtheria: Merc cy., Bell., Phytol., Mere, iod., Ferr. phos. and 

Kali mur. in alternation every hour. Phytol. as a gargle. 
Dizziness: Aeon., Bell., Nux vom., Cocc, Bry., Puis., Gels. 
Dropsy : Ars., Apis, Dig., Bry., Chin., Apoc. can. 

Of the Abdomen. See Ascites. 

Of the Brain. See Water in the Head. 

Of the Chest: Dig., Ars., Bry., Helleb. 

Of the Extremities. See (Edema. 

Post-Scarlatinal : Apis, Ars., Canth., Helleb. 

Of the Scrotum : Iod., Rhod., Graph., Aur. 
Drowsiness: Opium, Aeon., Bell.; Lye (after dinner) ; Gels. 
Dysentery: Merc, cor., Ipec, Ars., Aloes (chronic, with piles), Ham., 

Kali mur. 
Dysmenorrhea. See Menstruation: Painful. 
Dyspepsia. See Indigestion. 
Ear. — Aching of: Bell., Puis., Merc, Cham., Aeon., Plantag. 

Discharge from : Hepar sulph., Calc, Puis., Carbol. ac, Merc, 
Caust.,, Kali mur. 

Soreness of: Mur. ac, Puis; Caust. (eruption about the ear). 

Inflammation of: Aeon., Bell., Puis., Merc sol. 

Noises in : Aeon., Chin, sulph., Nux vom., Sulph., Natr. salic 
Ecchymosis (blackness under the skin) : Ham., Am., Bhus. 
Eczema (a non-contagious itching eruption) : Ars., Calc, Merc, Bhus; 

Crot. tig., Sulph. (much iiehing) ; Kali mar. 
Enuresis (see Urine).— Incontinence: Mullein oil. 
Epilepsy : Bell., Cupr., Hyosc, Stram., Veratr. Yir., Ign. ; Ars., Zinc, 
Calc (chronic) \ Bufo. 



CLINICAL DIRECTORY. 24c 



Epistaxis {bleeding from the nose): Ham. (dark blood); Ipec. (bright 

blood) ; Puis, (absent or deficient period) ; Bry., Aeon., Ferr. phos. 
Eructations: Bry., Xux vom.. Puis., Sulph. ac, Lye, Carbo veg., 

Ars., Cham., Arg., Natr. 
Eruptions : Sulph., Ars., Kali mur. 

Erysipelas : Aeon., Bell., Rhus, Veratr. vir., Apis, Canth. 
Excoriations of Infants : Cham., Calc., Lye., Sulph. Also Hydrast. 

or Calend. ext. ; or the parts dusted with powdered starch. 
Preventive : Tepid washing, followed by careful drying, moruing 

and evening. 
Eyelids. — Agglutination (gumming) of: Merc, Hepar sulph., Calc, 

Sulph., Puis. 
Eyes.— Inflammation of._ See Ophthalmia. 

Soke: Merc, Clematis, Nitr! ac, Euphr., Bell., Merc cor. 
Squinting of (strabismus): Bell., Hyosc., Gels., Stram. 
Weak: Sulph., Phos., Iod., Bell. 
YvV)UNDS of: Arn. alt. Aeon. ; Bell., Ham. 
Faceache: Aeon., Bell., Coloc, Spig. ; Cimic (when the eyeballs are 

affected) ; Cham., Sticta. See also Gumboils. 
Fainting : Mosch., Caniph., Ign., Veratr., Iod., Chin., Magn. phos. 
Feet. — Burning in: Sulph.. SiL 

Blistered, etc., from walking : Arnica bath. 
Cold: Sep., Puis., Ferr. The daily nse of the skipping-rope. 
Fetid Sweat of : SiL, Petrol., Xitr. ac, Graph. 
Fever. — Simple: Aeon, or Ferr. phos. 
Fistula : SiL, Fluor, ac, Calc. ; also Hydrast. ext. 
Flatulence : Xux vom., Carbo veg. (stomach) ; Lye (bowels) ; Chin. 
Flooding. See Menstruation : Excessive. 
Flushing: Aeon, (from excitement): ]Nux vom. (after food); Bell. 

(with headache); Cimic, Sep. (change of life); Amyl nit. 
Fright.— Consequences of: Opium, Aeon., Ign., Cham. 
Gall-stones: Aeon., Merc, Podoph., Xux vom.. Chin, [preventive). 
Ganglion (an encysted tumor on a tendon of the foot or back of the hand) : 

Rata, Arn., Iod., SiL, Calc, Benz. ac Locally, Benz. ac cerate. 
Giddiness: Bell., Xux vom., Bry., Aeon., Puis., Gels. 
Glands. — Enlarged : Merc iod., Bar. carb., Bell., Hepar sulph., 

Iod., SiL, Calc phos., Phytol. 
Gleet : Cinnab., Canth., Cann., Puis., Nux vom., Sulph., Kali sulph. 
Goitre : Merc, Calc. fluor. 
Gonorrhoea: Cann., Gels., Thuja. 
Gout : Aeon., Colch. or Bry. (during an attack) ; Rhod., Cimic, Puis., 

Xux vom., Lye; Arn. or Aeon, ext.; Arnica oil. 
Gravel: Lye, Ant. crud., Xux vom., Bry. 

Green-Sickness (chlorosis): Ferr., Puis., Sep., Conium, Natr. mur. 
Gumboils: Aeon. alt. Bell, (first symptoms); Merc, SiL, Hepar sulph.; 

Phos. (to prevent recurrence) ; Calc. sulph. 
Gums. — Scurvy of: Merc, Nitr. ac, Carbo veg., Ars., Kali mur. 
Haemoptysis (spitting of blood). See Hemorrhage. 
Hemorrhage. — From the Bladder: Canth., Tereb., Ham., Arn. 



244 CLINICAL DIRECTORY. 



Hemorrhage. — From the Anus (see Piles) : Ham. extract. 

From the Lungs: Ipec., Ham., Arm, Mill., Aeon., Ferr. phos. 

From the Nose: Aeon., Ipec., Ham., Bry., Am., Ferr. phos. 

From the Stomach : Ipec, Ham., Nitr. ac. 

From the Womb: Croc., Sab., Sec, Plat., Ipec, Cauloph. 

In all cases of hemorrhages, iced water should be sipped or 
small pieces of ice swallowed. 
Hands.— Undue Moisture of: Fluor, ac 

Habitual Coed: Ferr. phos., Sulph. 
Hair. — Loss of. See Alopecia. 
Hay-fever: Sabad., Euphr., Ipec, Ars. 
Headache. — Bieious: Iris, Bry., Nux vom., Puis., Ipec, Sep. 

Catarrhal: Aeon., Bell., Merc, Nux vom., Bry. 

In Children: Ferr. phos., Calc phos. 

Chronic : Plat., Arg. nitr., Plumb., Zinc, Phos. 

Congestive : Bell., Grlom, Aeon., Veratr. vir., Nux vom. 

Nervous (in one-half of the head): Ign., Aur., CoiF., Cham., Nux 
vom., Phos., Aeon., Spig., Sulph. 

Rheumatic: Aeon., Bry., Nitr. ac, Rhus, Spig., Phytol. 

Sick (see Bilious): Sang., Iris. 
Heart. — Disease of: Cact., Dig., Naja, Aeon., Spig., Ars. iod. 

Feeble Action of: Dig., Cupr., Mosch. (with fainting). 

Inflammation of Membranes of: Aeon. alt. Spig., Bry., Ars. 

Palpitation of: Aeon., Cact., Mosch., Nux mosch., Phos., Puis. 

Rheumatism of: Spig., Bry., Cact., Cimic 
Heartburn : Puis., Bry., Carbo veg., Sulph. ac, Veratr. alb. ; Calc. 

carb. (chronic) ; Natr. phos. 
Hectic Fever : Chin., Phos. ac, Ars., Sulph., Sang., Calc. phos. 
Hiccough : Nux vom., Aeon., Ign., Sulph. ac, Veratr. vir. 
Hip-joint Disease: Sil., Phos., Calc. carb., Ars., Sulph.; Aeon, and 

Bell, (at first, and when necessary). Also perfect rest. 
Hoarseness : Bar. carb., Caust., Phytol., Hepar sulph., Phos., Spong., 

Carbo veg. See also Aphonia. 
Hypochondriasis : Aur., Nux vom., Lycop., Anac, Kali phos. 
Hysteria : Ign., Plat., Asa., Valer., Gels., Puis., Kali phos. 
Hysteric Convulsions : Camph., Mosch., Opium (from fright). Also 

cold douche to the face. 
Ices, Ice-cream. — 111 effects therefrom : Ars., Carbo. 
Impotence: Phos., Agnus cast., Nux vom., Ferr., Bar. carb., Chin., 

Nuphar, Phos. ac 
Incontinence of Urine. See Urine : Incontinence of. 
Indigestion. —Acute: Ipec, Puis., Nux vom., Bry. 

Chronic: Kali bich., Hepar sulph., Carbo veg., Sulph., Chin., Lye. 

In Children : Cham., Puis., Nux vom., Sulph., Ant. crud. 

In the Aged: Ant. crud., Kali bich., Carbo veg., Nux vom., Ars. 

From Cold: Aeon., Ars., Merc, Bry. 

From Fat or Kich Food : Puis., Ant. crud., Kali mur. 

From Anger: Cham, (with bilious symptoms). 

From Anxiety, Grief, etc : Ign., Chin., Nux vom., Puis. 



CLINICAL DIRECTORY. 245 

Infants. — Screams of: Cham., Jal., Aeon., Kali brom. 
Soreness of. See Excoriations. 

Restlessness of: Cham., CofF., Bell., Gels., Kali brom. 
Influenza: Camph. (the chill stage); Aeon, {chills and heats); Ars. 
(prostration); Kali bich. (troublesome cough); Gels., Rhus, 
Euphr., Cepa. 
Intermittent Fever. See Ague. 
Itching of the Anus. See Anus. 

Of the Skin: Aeon., Arg. nitr., Mez., Sulph., Ars., Kux vom., 
Crot. tigl. Also Mez. or Veratr. vir. ext.; Urtiea. 
Jaundice: Aeon., Bry., Merc., Chel., Ars.; Phos. (malignant); Chin., 

Kux. 
Joints. — Pain in : Aeon., Arg. met., Bell., Bry., Ruta, Ferr. phos. 

Swelling of : Iod., Puis., Calc., Sil. 
Kidneys. — Inflammation of: Canth., Tereb., Aeon., Bell. 
Knee.— Inflammation of: Aeon, alt Puis., Bry.; Iod. (much 

swelling). 
Labor-pains : Cham., Puis., CofF., Gels., Magnes. phos. 

False : Puis., Cimic., Cocc., Kux vom., Bell. 
Lead Colic : Opium, Alum., Plat., Bell., Sulph. ac. 
Legs.— Swelling of. See (Edema. 

Lepra (scaly patches on the skin) : Ars., Merc., Sulph., Iod. 
Leucorrhoea. — Sep., Cocc, Puis., Calc. carb., Sil.; Kreos. (corrosive); 
Conium (chronic). Lotions of Hydrast. as injections. Also fre- 
quent ablutions, moderate exercise in the open air, sufficient 
rest, and nutritious, digestible diet. 
Liver. — Enlargement of: Merc. iod. Also abdominal compress. 
Inflammation of : Aeon., Bry., Merc. cor. 
Pain in: Bry., Phos. 
Torpid: Merc, Podoph. 
Liver Complaint : Merc, Podoph., Kux vom., Sulph., Kitr. ac, Phos., 

Lycop., Leptand. 
Liver Spots : Sulph., Borax Lycop., Sep. 
Lock-jaw: Aeon., Bell., Arm, Kux vom., Gels. 
Lowness of Spirits. See Hypochondriasis. 
Lumbago: Ant. tart. ; Am. (from overexertion); Rhus (sudden, from 

cold; worse during rest); Cimic (muscular pains). 
Lungs.— Inflammation of : Aeon. cdt. Phos., Bry., Chel. maj., Ant. 
tart., Ferr. phos. 
Congestion of : Ferr. phos., Veratr. vir. 
Measles: Aeon. alt. Puis.; Gels., Bry., Bell.; Kali bich. (laryngeal 

cough) ; Sulph. (to prevent sequelce). 
Melancholia : Aur., Ign., Plat., Phos., Zinc, Sulph. See also Hypo- 
chondriasis. 
Memory. — Weakness of : Phos. ac, Anac, Zinc, Kali phos. 
Menstruation (the monthly period). — Delay of the First: Puis., 
Ferr., Sep., Phos., Sulph., Sec. 
Irregular : Sep., Puis., Sulph., Senec. 



246 CLINICAL DIRECTORY. 



Menstruation.— Painful : Cimic, Coca, Croc, Bell., Cham., Puis., 
Plat., Ign., Gels., Veratr., Magn. phos. 
Excessive: Sec., Croc, (dark and clotted)] Sab. (bright-red) \ Calc. 

carb., Ipec. ; Chin, (after excessive discharge). 
Scanty : Sep., Ferr., Puis., Conium, Sulph., Helon. (ancemia) ; 

Natr. mur. 
Suppressed : Aeon., Puis., Bell. ; Conium (chronic) ; Sep., Plat., 
Khus. Sudden suppression further requires a hot hip-bath, 
after which the patient should retire to a warmed bed. 
Recurring too Early (in less than a month from commencement of 
previous period): Calc. phos., Sab., Ign.; Kreos. (offensive dis- 
charge) ; Sec, Nux vom. 
Recurring too Late : Puis., Phos., Ferr., Sep. 
Vicarious : Ham. virg., Bry., Puis., Phos., Senec. 
Too Short Duration. See Scanty. 
Too Long Duration. See Excessive. 

Cessation of (change of life): Chin, or Ferr. (profuse discharge); 
Sulph., Glonoin, Lach., or Sang, (flushes) ; Cimic, Gels, (sinking 
at stomach, etc.) ; Kali phos. 
Milk.— Suppressed or Scanty: Puis., Agnus cast.; Aeon, (with 
fever) ; Bell, (with brain symptoms). 
Too Abundant: Calc. carb., Phos., Iod. ; Chin, (with debility). 
Milk Fever : Bry., Aeon., Cham., Veratr. vir., Bell. 
Milk Leg : Aeon. alt. Ham. or Puis. ; Phos. 
Milk Scab (vesicular eruption on the face of infants) : Rhus tox., Sulph., 

Viola trie Corn-starch powder locally. 
Miscarriage : Sec, Caul., Croc, Ipec, Cedron, Arn., Bell. 

Threatened : Puis., Cham., Bell., Sab., Arn., Sec At the same 
time, the patient should lie on a mattress, in a cool, well-venti- 
lated room, till all clanger is past, and avoid hot drinks. 
Prevention of : Calc. carb., Cimic, Chin., cold sitz-bath daily at 
bedtime, with the shoulders and legs warmly wrapped. 
Moles : Carbo veg., Sulph. ; Calend. ext 
Monthly Period. See Menstruation. 
Morning Sickness : Ipec, Kreos., Nux vom., Puis., Ars. 
Mosquitoes. — Stings of : Ledum ext. If a sting of a mosquito or wasp 
remain in the skin, the open end of the tube of a small key should 
be pressed firmly over the part. 
Mouth. — Sore : Kali mur. 

Mumps : Merc, iod., Merc sol., Merc cor., Bell., Puis. 
Nausea : Ipec, Kreos., Ant. crud., Lob., Tabac, Puis., Nux vom. 
Neck. — Crick in the : Brom., Cimic, Dulc, Aeon., Bell. 

Stiffness of : Bell., Bry., Lye, Nux vom., Merc. 
Nervous Debility. See Debility. 

Nervousness : Cham., Coff., Ign., Hyosc, Cimic, Gels., Chin., Kali 
phos. Occupation and open-air recreation. See also Hysteria, 
Hypochondriasis, etc. 
Nettlerash : Apis, Ehus, Puis. ; Kali mur. 



CLINICAL DIRECTORY. 247 



Neuralgia.— In the Face: Aeon., Ars., Bell., Coloc., Cham., Spig., 
Gels., Sticta, Magn. phos. 
In the Head: Glon., Bell., Nux vom., Sticta, Cimic. 
In the Back : Nux vom., Oxal. ac., Cimic., Veratr. 
In the Thigh (sciatica) : Coloc, Ars., Nux vom., Cann. 
In the Side (intercostal) : Ehod., Ars., Cimic. 
Nightmare : Nux vom., Puis., Kali phos. A light diet, out-of-door 
exercise, and a sponge bath daily are recommended; also 
avoidance of suppers, stimulants, fatigue, and heavy, close bed- 
clothes. 
Night-sweats: Chin., Ars., Phos. ac, Merc, Sil., Calc phos. See 

also Hectic Fever. 
Nipples. — Sore : Sulph., Sil. Also Calend., Hydrast., or Arn. ext 
Nosebleed: Aeon., Bry., Ipec, Ham. virg., Puis, (in women)) Chin, 

(in weak persons) ; Arn. (from a blow) ; Ferr. phos. 
Nose.— Sore: Ars., Sulph., Graph., Aur., Caust; Iod. (with fetor). 
Numbness and Tingling : Aeon., Rhus, Xux vom., Calc phos. 
Obesity (excessive accumulation of fat): Ars., Ferr., Calc carb., Sulph. 

Also and chiefly, avoidance of starch and sugar. Phytoi. 
(Edema (vjatery fluid under the skin): Chin., Ferr., Apis, Ars. 
Ophthalmia.— Catarrhal : Aeon., Merc, Euphr., Bell., Puis. 
Chronic : Clem., Calc. carb,, Sulph., Merc, Hepar sulph., Kali mur. 
After Measles: Puis., Sulph. 
After Scarlatina : Bell., Hepar sulph., Merc 
After Smallpox : Merc, Sulph. 

Scrofulous : Calc, Iod., Graph., Hepar sulph., Merc, cor., Ars. 
Syphilitic: Merc, cor., Nitr. ac, Thuja, Aur. 
In Infants: Arg. nitr., Calc. carb., Sulph., Merc. 
Palpitation : Mosch. (nervous) ; Aeon., Spig., Bell., Cact. grand, Phos., 

Puis., Ars. 
Panting : Bry. 
Paralysis: Bar. carb., Nux vom., Arg. nitr., Plumb., Bhus, Phos., 

Gels., Aeon. 
Perspire.— Tendency to: Chin., Merc, Veratr., Carbo veg., Sil. 
Photophobia (intolerance of light) : Bell., Ant. tart., Merc cor., Euphr., 

Calc, Ign. 
Phthisis (to waste away). See Consumption. 

Piles : Sulph., Ham., Collin., Aloes, Nux vom., ^scul. ; Ham. ext. 
Pimples: Bell, (in the full-blooded) ; Puis, (in girls); Sulph., Kali bich., 

Ant. crud., Hepar sulph. 
Pleurisy : Aeon. alt. Bry. ; Phos., Iod., Ars. 
Polypus : Kali bich., Teuc, Calc, Sanguin. 
Prolapsus.— Of the Anus : Ign., Nux vom., Podoph., Merc 

Of the Womb : Stann., Sec, Bell., Sepia, Nux vom., Helon. 
Prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate) : Bell., Puis., Kali hydr. 
Prostration. See Debility. 
Proud Flesh : Sil., Fluor, ac, Nitr. ac, Phos. 
Puerperal (child-bed) Fever : Aeon., Bell., Bry., Stram. 
Purple Rash : Bell., Cham., Calc carb, 



248 CLINICAL DIRECTORY. 



Prurigo (a papular eruption, with intolerable itching). — Of the Anus: 
Nitr. ac, Sulph. Also Glyc. of Hydrast, or freshly-made chlo- 
roform ointment (£ss ad adipis §ss), ext. 
Of the Pudendi: Aeon., Sulph., Sep., Lye., Collin.; Glyc. 
of Hydrast., or a solution of Borax (pulv. Boracis grs. xx. aq. 
ij. ext.). 
Of the Scrotum : Petrol., Merc, cor., Nitr. ac, Ehus, Aeon. Also 
frequent ablutions with tepid or cold water. 
Quinsy: Bell., Bar. carb., Merc. iod. ; Kali permang. (as a gargle, 

gr. xii. ad aq. des. §vj.). 
Rash.— During Teething : Cham. ; Ant. crud. (with diarrhoea) ; 

Ars. (with prostration) . 
Red Gum (infant rash) : Ant. crud., Bry., Cham., Puis. See Rash. 
Relaxed Throat : Kali bich., Hepar sulph., Bar. carb., Phytol., Phos. 
Remittent Fever : Gels, (especially in children); Ars., Veratr., Chin., 

Ipec, Rhus. 
Retention of Urine : Canth., Nux vom., Opium, Aeon., Camph., Cann. 
Restlessness of Children: CofF., Cham., Aeon., Bell., Gels. 
Rheumatic Fever : Aeon., Bry., Bell., Cimic., Ferr. phos. 
Rheumatism. — Of the Back. See Lumbago. 

Of the Chest (intercostal muscles) : Rhod., Bry., Arn., Cimic. 
Of the Heart : Spig., Cimic, Cact. grand., Bry., Dig. 
Of the Joints : Kuta, Bry., Rhus, Cimic., Caust., Kali hydr. 
Of the Neck : Bry., Rhod. 

Chronic : Rhus, Arn., Sulph., Rhod., Cimic, Kali hydr. ; locally, 
Arnica oil. 
Rickets : Silic, Calc, Sulph. Also out-door air, cold or tepid salt- 
water baths, and a teaspoonful of cod-liver oil twice a day. 
Ringworm. — Of the Scalp : Sep. 

Of the Skin : Tellur., Rhus, Sep., Sulph. 
Salivation. — From Mercury : Nitr. ac, Iod., Hepar sulph. 

Non-Mercurial : Merc. 
Scabies (the itch) : Sulphur ointment. 
Scaldhead : Calc. phos., Ars., Sulph., Ant. crud., Lye ; Rhus, Kali 

mur. Powder with corn-starch. 
Scalds (see Burns): Urtica and Cantharis cerate. 
Scarlatina. — Simple: Aeon. alt. Bell. ; Sulph. (convalescence). 
With Throat Affection (anginosa) : Merc, Apis. 
Malignant : Ailanth., Ars., Mur. ac, Carbo veg. Condy's Fluid 

topically. 
Preventive: Bell. 
Sciatica: Coloc, Rhus, Ars., Nux vom., Cann., Kali phos. 
Scorbutus (scurvy) : Merc, Nitr. ac, Carbo veg., Ars. 
Screams of Infants : Cham., Aeon., Jal., Bell., Calc. phos. 
Scrofulous Affections : Iod., Calc carb., Sulph., Phos. 
Scurvy of the Gums. See Gums. 

Seasickness : Petrol., Cocc, Tabac, Nux vom., Glonoin. 
Shingles : Rhus tox., Sulph., Ars. 
Sick-Headache : Iris, Ipec, Puis., Nux vom., Sep. 



CLINICAL DIRECTORY. 249 

Sickness : Ipec. (simple) ; Puis, (from rich food) ; Nux vom. (from 
alcohol) ; Iris, Ant. tart. See also Vomiting. 
Morning : Ipec, Kreos., Nux vom., Puis., Are. 
Skin.— Itching of : Arg. nitr., Sulph., Ars., Mez. ; Veratr. vir. (pain- 
ful sensitiveness). See also Excoriations, Prurigo, Scabies, etc. 
Sleepiness : Opium, Aeon. ; Lye. (after dinner) ; Gels. 
Sleeplessness : Passiflora, Coff , Bell., Hyosc., Gels., Ign. 
Smallpox: Ant. tart., Merc., Bell., Bry., Sulph. 
Smell.— Loss of : Puis., Merc, Gels., Aeon., Sang., Calc carb., Plumb., 

Natr. mur. 
Sneezing. — From a Cold : Merc, Ipec, Aeon., Ars. 
Sore Eyes : Merc, Clematis, Sulph., Calc carb., Euphr., Nitr. ac 
Sore Throat: Aeon., Bell., Merc; Kali permang. or Phytol. as a 

gargle ; Ferr. phos. and Kali mur. alt. 
Spasms and Cramps : Camph., Nux vom., Coloc, Cocc, Gels., Magn. 

phos. 
Spermatorrhoea : Phos., Chin., Phos. ac, Arg. met., Gels., Nux. 
Spine. — Concussion of : Arn., Hyper. 

Irritation of : Chin., Ign., Nux vom., Gels. 
Spitting of Blood. See Hemorrhage : From the Lungs. 
Sprains : Bhus tox., Arn., or Ruta, int. and ext. 
Squinting: Bell., Hyosc, Gels., or Stram. (cerebral causes); Cina 

(from worms) ; Spig., Phos. 
Stammering : Bell., Hyosc 

Sterility : Phos., Plat., Conium, Bar. carb., Cann., Sep., Borax. 
Stiff Neck: Bry., Cimic, Bell. 
Stings : Lep., Apis, or Rhus, int. and ext. 
Stitches in the Chest : Bry., Aeon., Cimic, Phos. 
Stomach. — Acidity of: Puis., Nux vom., Bry., Lye, Carbo veg., 
Calc, Natr. phos. 
Inflammation of: Aeon., Ars., Bell., Phos. 
Ulceration of : Ars., Hydrast., Kali bich. 
Stone and Gravel : Lye, Nux vom., Calc, Cann. 
Stricture of the Urethra : Aeon., Nux vom., Canth., Cann. 
St. Vitus' Dance : Agar., Bell., Cupr. met., Artem., Stram., Zinc, 

Ars., Cimic, Ign., Veratr. vir. 
Stye: Puis., Sulph., Merc; Staph, (to prevent return); Sil. 
Summer Complaint (diarrhoea) : Chin., Iris, Bry., Ant. crud., Calc 

phos. 
Sunstroke : Camph., Bell., Glon., Gels., Veratr. vir. 
Suppuration : Sil., Hepar sulph., Chin, (when very profuse) ; Calc 

phos. 
Sweat.— Undue : Phos. ac, Calc phos., Sulph., Phos., Samb., Veratr. 
Fetid, under the Arms : Petrol., Carbo veg., Sil. 
Tendency to : Chin., Merc, Veratr., Carbo veg. 
Sweaty Feet and Hands : Sil., Nitr. ac, Petrol., Graph. 
Swellings.— Dropsical : Ars., Apis, Dig., Apoc. can. 
Glandular : Merc, Bell., Hepar sulph,, Calc phos. 



250 CLINICAL DIRECTORY. 

Swellings.— Of the Face: Merc, (from gumboil)] Bell, or Cham. 
(from toothache) ; Apis (from erysipelas); Chin, or Ars. (dropsical.) 

Of the Feet (oedema) : Ars., Ferr., Apis, Dig., Chin. 

Of the Joints: Iod., Bry., Puis., Bell. 

White : Bry., Iod., Sil., Cale. carb., Sulph. 
Syphilis: Merc, Nitr. ac, Thuja, Arg. nitr., Aur. 
Tapeworm : Fil. mas, Kous., Sabad., Pumpkin seeds, Cocoanut. 
Taste Impaired : Puis., Merc, Plumb. 
Teeth. See Toothache, and Dentition. 

Testicles.— Enlargement of: Puis., Clematis, Spong., Arn., Aur., 
Aeon. Also the use of a suspensory. 

Wasting of : Iod., Conium. 
Tetters.— Dry : Merc, Iod., Ars., Petrol. 

Moist : Aeon., Khus, Ars., Phytol., Graph., Calc, Sulph. 
Threadworms : Cina, Teucr., Ign., Nat. phos. 
Throat. — Sore : Aeon., Bell., Merc, Hepar sulph., Puis. ; Phytol. as 

a gargle. 
Thrush : Borax, Merc, Ars., Sulph. 
Tic-douloureux. See Neuralgia. 

Tongue. — Coated: Ant. crud. (milky white); Kali bich. (yellowish); 
Puis, (roughish white) ; Khus, Bapt. (brownish). 

Swollen : Bell., Merc, Aeon., Mur. ac. 

Ulcerated : Merc, Nitr. ac. ; Hydrast. as a wash ; Kali mur. 
Tonsils.— Enlarged : Bell., Merc bin., Calc phos., Kali hydr., Bar. 
carb. 

Inflamed. See Quinsy 
Toothache : Aeon. alt. Bell, (redness of face, with throbbing) ; Puis. 

From Decay : Kreos., Merc, Staph., Phytol. See Gumboil. 

Nervous: Coff., Cham., Ign., Gels. 

Of Children: Cham., Kreos. 

Of Pregnancy: Bell., Nux vom., Cham., Coff. 
Tremors.— Nervous : Aeon., Ign., Chin., Coff., Bell.; Nux vom. 

(from stimulants). 
Tuberculosis (the condition of the body in which tubercles are deposited) : 

Iod., Phos., Calc carb., Ferr. iod. 
Tumors. See Swellings. 

Typhoid (Enteric) Fever : Bapt., Ars., Mur. ac, Khus, Bry. 
Ulcers : Hydrast., Silic, or Kali bich. int. and ext. ; Bell., Lye 

In the Leg : Bell., Ars. ; Merc, (syphilitic) ; Caust. ; Hydrast. int. 
and ext. 
TJrine.— Bloody: Canth., Tereb., Ham. 

Burning or Scalding : Canth., Cann., Gels., Aeon. 

Fetid: Aeon., Bar., Tereb., Nitr. ac. 

Painful Passage of: Apis, Canth., Lye, Nux vom., Cann. 

Incontinence of: Lye, Bell., Caust.; Cina (from worms); Phos. 
ac, Gels, (in the aged) ; Canth., Ferr., Mullein oil. 

Ketention of : Canth., Nux vom., Opium, Camph. 
Varicose Veins : Ham., Puis., Fluor, ac, Calc. fluor. 
Voice.— Loss of. See Aphonia, and Hoarseness. 



CLINICAL DIRECTORY. 251 

Vomiting.— From Indigestible Food : Puis., Ant. crud., Ipec, Iris. 

Chronic : Kreos., Ars., Hydrast. 

Of Blood : Ipec, Ham., Nitr. ac, Chin. 
Walking.— Delay of the Power of : Calc. phos., Phos., Sulph. 
Wakefulness : Coff., Bell., Gels., Glon. 
Warts: Thuja, Rhus tox., or Nitr. ac. int. and ext; Sulph. 
Wasting. See Atrophy. 

Waterbrash : Lye., 5s ux vom., Carbo veg., Bry., Ars., Natr. phos. 
Water.— In the Chest : Bry., Ars., Dig., Apis. 

In the Head : Helleb., Bell., Apis, Calc. phos. 
Watery Blood : Ferr., Chin., Phos., Calc. phos. See also Anaemia. 
Weakness. See Debility. 
Wetting the Bed: Mullein oil. 
Whites. See Leucorrhcea. 

White Swelling,— Of the Knee: Bry., Kali hydr., Puis. 
Whitlow: Silic, Fluor, ac, Hep. See also Abscess, and Boils. 
Whooping-Cough : Ipec, Dros., Ferr. phos., Coral., Cupr., Veratr. ; 

Bell, (with head symptoms) ; Magn. phos. 
Wind. See Flatulence. 
Worm Fever : Aeon., Cina, Sil. 
Worms. — Thread: Cina, Teucr., Ign., Urt. ur., Sant., Chin. 

Long Round: Merc, Spig., Sulph., Aeon. 

Tape : Fil. mas, Kous. 
Wounds : Calend., Ham., or Ruta, ext. 
Wry Neck : Nux vom., Bell., Bry., Merc. 
Zona (shingles) : Rhus, Ran. bulb., Aeon., Sulph., Lye 



INDEX.* 



For " Hints to the Reader," see pages 11-12. 



Abdomen, distended, 84, 153 

Abdominal compress, 62 

Accidents, 198 

Aching of the teeth, 137 

Acid dyspepsia, see " Heartburn ;" also 

" Gout" 
Aconitum, uses of, 215 
Administration of medicines, 49 
Advantages of Homoeopathy, 27 
Aged, constipation in the, 164 
Ague, 80 

Ague-cake (enlarged spleen), 81 
Air, value of good, 38 
Alternation of medicines, 53 
Anasarca (dropsy), 76 
Antidotes (remedies to counteract the 
effects of anything poisonous 
or hurtful), 232 
Antimonium crudum, 216 

tartaricum, 231 
Anus, prolapsus of, 169 
Aphthae (thrush), 134 
Apis mellifica, uses of, 216 
Apnoea (suffocation), 198 
Appetite, loss of, see " Indigestion," 143 
Arnica, uses of, 216 

caution in the use of, 217 

oil, 217 

oil in rheumatism, 94 

cerate, 217 
Arsenicum, uses of, 218 
Ascaris lumbricoides, 155 
Asphyxia (temporary suspended circu- 
lation), 198 
Asthma, 127 

Atmospheric influences in consump- 
tion, 99 
Back, pain in, 94 
Baryta carbonica, 218 
Bathing, 40, 99 
Baths, 59 

hot foot, 60 

warm, 59 
Bed, the, 55 

wetting the, 174 

rooms, airy, 38 

for the sick, 54 
Belladonna, uses of, 218 
Beverages for the sick, 56 
Bilious headache, 110 
Biliousness, 170 
Bites, 206 



Bladder, bleeding from, 175 
Bleeding, how to stop, 204 

from the lungs, 196 

nose, 115 

stomach, 196 

womb, 180 

wounds, 203 

the urinary organs, 175 

piles, 167 
Blistered feet from walking, 211 
Blood diseases, 63 
Bloodshot eye, 207 
Bloodvessel, rupture of, 196 
Bloody flux, 151 

urine, 175 
Blows, see u Bruises " 
Boils, 190 

Bones, broken (fractures), 207 
Bowels, confined, 162 

relaxed, 157 

relaxed in children, 160 

protrusion of, 169 
Brain affections, 102 
Breakfast, 34 

Breast, inflammation of, 183 
Breathing, organs of, 118 

how to restore suspended, 198 
Broken bones, 207 

ribs, 210 
Bronchitis, 124 

chronic, 126 
Bruises, 202 

Bryonia alba, uses of, 219 
Burns and scalds, 200 
Calcarea carbonica, uses of, 219 

phos.,uses of, 234 

fluor., uses of 236 

sulph., uses of, 236 
Calendula, uses of, 219 

lotion and cerate, 220 
Camphor, uses of, 220 
Cantharis, 221 

Carbo vegetabilis, uses of, 221 
Catarrh, 120 

chronic, 122 
Chamomilla, uses of, 221 
Change of life, 182 
Chapped hands, 188 
Chest, cold in, 124 
Chickenpox, 67 
Chilblains, 188 
Child-crowing, 107 



* Many diseases not included in this index are referred to in the "Materia 
Medica" and " Clinical Index." 



(252) 



IXDEX. 



253 



Children, adaptation of Homoeopathy 

to, 31 
Children's Diseases— 

Bleeding of the nose, 115 

Bronchitis, 124 

Chickenpox, 67 

Constipation, 162 

Convulsions, 105 

Croup, 118 

spasmodic, 107 

Diarrhoea, 160 

Discharge from the ears, 114 

Earache, 113 

Measles, 68 

Mumps, 88 

Nosebleed, 115 

Protrusion of the bowel {prolapsus 
ani), 169 

Ringworm, 187 

Scarlatina, 71 

Sleeplessness, 136 

Teething, 135 

Thrush, 134 

Toothache, 137 

"Wetting the bed, 174 

Whooping-cough, 85 

Worms, 154 
China, uses of, 222 
Cholera, 83 

prevention of, 85 

success of homoeopathic treatment 
of 28 
Chronic bronchitis, 126 

catarrh, 122 

rheumatism, 94 
Cimicimga racemosa, uses of, 222 
Cina, uses of 223 
Cleanliness in the sick-room, '55 
Clergyman's sore throat, 141 
Clinical directory, 237 
Clothing, 42 

of children, 43 
Climate in consumption, 100 
Cod-liver oil, 98 
Coffea, uses of, 223 
Cold in the head, 120 
Cold on the chest, 124 
Cold compress, 60 
Colic, 161 

Colocynthis, uses of, 223 
Comparisons of tissue remedies, 233- 

236 
Compress for the abdomen, 62 

for the throat, 61 
Concussions, see ' ' Bruises " 
Confined bowels, 162 
Constipation, 162 
Consumption, 96 
Contusions {bruises), 202 
Convulsions, 105 
Corn, 192 
Corn-plasters, 192 
Coryza, 120 
Costiveness, 162 
Cough, 132 

whooping, 85 



Cramps, see " Camphor," " Veratrum," 

etc. 
Croup, proper, 118 

spasmodic, 107 
Cruprum, uses of, 223 
Cuts, 203 

Dainty serving of food, 59 
Deafness, 114 

Debility, see under " Arsenicum," 
4 ' China,' ' ' ' Phosphorus,' ' 
etc. 
Dentition, 135 
Diarrhoea, 157 

of children, 160 
Diathesis, hemorrhagic, 195 
Diet, hints on, 34 

extraordinary, 57 

for the dyspeptic, 165 

meat, 57 

milk, 57 
Difficulty in urinating, 172 
Digestive organs, diseases of, 134 
Dinner, 34 

Directions about medicines, 51 
Discharge from the ears, 114 
Discovery of Homoeopathy, 17 
Diseases of children, see under "Chil- 
dren" 
Domestic Homoeopathy, 4 
Dose and its repetition, 53 
Dress, 42 

when catches fire, 200 
Dropping tinctures, 51 
Dropsy after scarlatina, 76 
Drosera, uses of, 223 
Drowned persons, how to restore, 198 
Drugs, injurious, 45 
Dulcamara, uses of, 223 
Dysmenorrhea (painful menses), 179 
Dysentery, 151 
Dyspepsia, 143 
Dyspnoea (difficult breathing), see 

asthma, 127 
Ear, foreign bodies in, 206 
Earache, 113 
Ears, discharge from, 114 

inflammation of, 113 
Economical treatment, 27 
Emaciation, see under "Calcarea" 
Emetic, a convenient, 213 
Emissions, 176 
Enteric fever, 76 
Enuresis (incontinence of urine), 173 

nocturnal (icetting the bed), 174 
Epilepsy, 102 

Epistaxis (bleeding from the nose), 115 
Erysipelas, 90 
Ex'ercise, 43 

Experimental practice, 31 
Expiration, how to produce artificial, 198 
Eye, bloodshot, 207 

diseases of, 111 

foreign bodies in, 206 

inflammation of, 111 
Eyelids, stye on the, 112 
Fainting, insensibility, 200 



254 



INDEX. 



Falling sickness, 102 

Faith and Homoeopathy, 24 

Fatigue, 211 

Febricula {simple fever), 79 

Feeding, regulating of, 58 

Feet, blistered from walking, 211 

Ferrum phos., use of 233 

Fever, intermittent, 80 

rheumatic, 92 

scarlet, 71 

simple, 79 

typhoid, typhoid-malarial, 76 
Finger, gathering of, 191 
Flatulence, 143 
Flooding, 180 
Flux, bloody, 151 
Food, not to be kept in the sick-room, 

58; see also" Diet " 
Foot-bath, hot, 60 
Foreign bodies in the eye, 206 
Fracture of bones, 207 
Fresh air, 38 
Frog (thrush), 134 
Frostbite — sunstroke, 202 
Furuncles, 190 
Future of Homoeopathy, 31 
Gastric (pertaining to the stomach) ,143 
Gastric {enteric) fever, 76 
Gathering, 191 
Gelsemium, uses of, 224 
Gentle measures, 29 
Genuine medicines, 50 
Giddiness, etc., 110 
Globules, 49 
Gout, 95 
Grippe, 89 
Gumboil, 140 
Gum-water, 56 
Hseniaturia, 175 
Haemoptysis, 196 

Hemorrhages (losses of blood) , 180,195 
Hemorrhagic diathesis, 195 
Hemorrhoids, 167 
Hahnemann, 17 
Hamemelis, uses of, 224 

extract (Pond's extract), 225 
Hands, chapped, 188 
Hardness of hearing, 114 
Headache, 108 

sick, 110 
Head, cold in the, 120 
Health, hints on, 33 

importance of, 6 
Heart, palpitation of, 193 
Heartburn, 145 
Hepar sulphuris, uses of, 225 
Hernia {rupture), 153 
Herpes, 187 
Hiccough, 144 

History of Homoeopathy, 17 
Hoarseness, 123 

clergyman's, etc., 141 
Homoeopathy, 17 

advantages of, 27 

early history of, 17 

introductory, 3 



Homoeopathy and children, 31 

and cholera, 28 

and diet, 25 

and faith, 24 

appeals to facts, 21 

its future, 32 

its influence, 19 

its progress and opposition, 5 

its success, 28 

not opposed to experience, 23 

pirated by allopathic professors, 19 

what is, 20 
Hot foot-bath, 60 
Hot water, use of, 37 
Hygiene {relating to health), 33 
Iced-champagne in seasickness, 150 
Icterus {jaundice), 171 
Ignatia, uses of, 225 
Illustrations of the homoeopathic 

principle, 26 
Incised wounds, 203 
Incontinence of urine, 173 
Indigestion, 143 
Infantile convulsions, 105 
Inflammation of the bronchial tubes, 124 

ears, 113 

eyes, 111 

Jiver, 171 

lungs, 129 
Influenza, 89 
Injections, 166 
Injuries— accidents, 198 
Insensibility, 200 
Inspiration, how to produce artificial, 

198 
Intussusception {stricture of the bow* 

els), see " Colic " 
Intermittent fever {ague), 80 
Intestinal worms, 154 
Involuntary emissions, 176 
Ipecacuanha, uses of, 225 
Itching of the skin, 185 
Jaundice, 171 
Jerrold's death-bed, 30 
Kali bichrom, uses of, 226 

mur., uses of, 233 

phos., uses of, 233 

sulph., uses ot, 234 
Kidneys, bleeding from, 175 
Kumyss in consumption, 99 
Lacerated {torn) wounds, 203 
Lactation, disorders, 183 
Laryngismus stridulus, 107 
Laudanum, 213 

poisoning by, 213 
Leg, broken, 207 
Leucorrhcea, 181 
Ligaturing an artery, 205 
Light, 26, 39 
List of medicines, 52 
Liver, inflammation of, 171 
Lochia, suppressed, 184 
Loins, pains in, 94 
Looseness, 157 
Loss of appetite, 143 
Lumbago {rheumatism of the loins), 94 



INDEX. 



255 



Lunibrici (round-worms), 155 
Lungs, inflammation of, 129 

tubercles in, 96 
Lycopodium, uses of, 226 
Lymph, vaccine, 67 
Magnet, 26 

Magnesia phos.,uses of, 234 
Malaria, its laws, etc., 82 
Materia medica, 214 
Measles, 68 

and consumption, 70 

differs from scarlatina, 69 

prevention of, 71 
Meat diet, 57 
Medicines, administration, etc., 49 

alternative of, 53 

directions for taking, 49 

dose, etc., 53 

forms of, 49 

list of, 52 
Medicine-case, 50 
Menstrual disorders, 178 
Mercurius cor. , uses of, 227 

uses of, 226 
Miasma {noxious effluvium), 82 
Miasmatic {containing miasma), 82 
Milk, excessive secretion, 184 

suppressed secretioa, 183 
Milk diet, 57 
Mineral poisons, 212 
Moderation in convalescence, 59 
Monkshood (aconitum), its uses, 215 
Morbilli, 68 ' 
Morning sickness, 182 
Mumps, 88 
Mustard water, 213 
Muscular rheumatism, 92 
Natrum mur., uses of, 235 

phos., uses of, 235 

sulph., uses of, 235 
Nausea marina, 150 
Neck, crick in, 92 

swelled, 88 

stiff, 92 
Nervous diseases, 102 
Nettlerash, 184 
Neuralgia, see Clinical Index 
Nipples, sore, 183 
Noises in the ears, 115 
Nose, bleeding from, 115 
Nursing, diet, etc., 54 
Nux vomica, uses of, 227 
Odontalgia (toothache), 137 
Ophthalmia, 111 
Opium, poisoning by, 213 

uses of, 228 
Otalgia, 113 
Otitis, 113 
Otorrhcea, 114 
Overexertion, 211 
Pain in the back, 94 

in the ear, 113 
in the head, 108 

about the navel, 161 
Painters' colic, 161 
Palpitation of the heart, 193 



Parasite (a being which lives upon or in 

another), 154 
Patent medicines, 45 
Pellets, 51 
Percussion, 98 
Peruvian bark, 222 
Phthisis (consumption), 96 
Phosphorus, uses of, 228 
Piles, 167 
Pleurisy, 129 
Pneumonia, 129 

Podophyllum peltatum, uses of, 229 
Poisons, 212 
Polycrests, 214 
Prevention of cholera, 85 

of measles, 71 

of scarlatina, 75 
Preventive medicine, 32 
Professional treatment, advantages 

of, 5 
Prolapsus of the bowel, 169 
Prurigo (a papular skin disease, with 

severe itching), 185 
Pulsatilla, uses of, 229 
Purging, 157 

Purulent ophthalmia, 111 
Pustules in smallpox, 64 
Quinsy, 142 
Rash, nettle, 184 
Regularity of feeding, 58 
Relaxed bowels, 157 

in children, 160 
Repetition of doses, 53 
Respiration, how to restore suspended, 

199 
Respiratory system, diseases of, 118 
Residence for the consumptive, 100 
Restlessness of children, 136 
Retention of uriDe, 172 
Rheumatic fever, 92 
Rheumatism, 94 
Rhus tox., uses of, 230 
Ribs, broken, 210 
Ringworm, 187 
Rupture, 153 
Scalds and burns, 200 
Scarlatina, 71 

prevention of, 75 
Sciatica, see Clinical Index. 
Scrofulous consumption, 96 

ophthalmia, 111 
Sea-salt, 41 
Seasickness, 150 
Self-abuse, 176 
Shingles.188 
Sick-headache, 110 
Sick-room, 54 
Silicea, uses of, 236 
Simple fever, 79 
Single remedy, the, 21 
Skin, diseases of ; 184 
Sleeplessness of infants, 136 
Small doses, 22 

Small of the back, pain in, 94 
Smallpox, 63 

dangers of, 64 



256 



INDEX. 



Smallpox, prevention of pitting in, 6G 
Smoking hurtful to parent and off- 
spring, 44 
Snuff injurious, 44 
Sore mouth, 134 

nipples, 183 

throat, 140 

throat, clergyman's, 141 
Sores and ulcers, 190 
Spanish fly (Cantharides) ,221 
Spasms (colic), 161 
Spasmodic croup, 107 
Specific medicines, 31 
Spermatorrhoea, 176 
Spongia, uses of, 230 
Sprain, 210 
St. Anthony's fire, 90 
Statistics 29 

Status of professional Homoeopaths, 18 
Stiff neck (crick in the neck), 92 
Stings, 206 
Strangury {difficult passage of urine), 

172 
Strangulated hernia, 153 
Stricture, spasmodic, 172 
Stye on the eyelids, 112 
Success of Homoeopathy, 28 
Sulphur, uses of, 231 
Sunstroke, 202 
Suppression of menses, 179 
Swollen face, 137 
Tapeworm, 155 
Tartar emetic, uses of. 231 
Teething, disorders or, 135 
Theory of the Tissue Kemedies, 45 
Threadworms, 155 
Throat, sore, 140 

compress for, 61 



Thrush, 134 
Tinctures, 49 

Tinctures, how to drop, 51 
Tissue Kemedies, 45, 233 

list of, 48 
Tobacco, hurtful, 44 
Tonsils, inflamed, 142 
Toothache, 137 
Triturations, 49 

Typhoid and typhoid-malarial, 76 
Ulcers, 190 

Urinary difficulties, 172 
Urticaria (nettlerash), 184 
Vaccination, 67 
Varicella (chickenpox), 67 
Variola (smallpox), 63 
Veratrum alb., uses of, 232 
Veratrum vir., uses of, 232 
Voice, loss of, 123 
Vomiting, 149 
Vomiting of blood, 196 
Warm baths, 59 
Warts, 193 

Watching fever patients, 78 
Water, 36 

how to purify, 37 
Water, hot, use of, 37 

aerated, 37 
Wet pack 60 
Wetting the bed, 174 
Whites, the, 181 
Whitlow, 191 
Whooping-cough, 85 
Womb, hemorrhage from, 180 
Women, diseases of, 178*. 
Worms, 154 
Wounds, 203 

poisoned, 206 



For diseases not referred to in the foregoing index, consult the "Materia 
Medica " and " Clinical Index," 



